


Newfound Family

by congressmanmabel, nuttersincorporated



Series: Newfound Family [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Character with Mental Health Issues, Family, Family Drama, Family Fluff, Feels, Flashbacks, Friendship, Humor, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Missing Scenes, Pacifica and Fiddleford both deserve happiness, Post-Series, Post-Weirdmageddon, Weirdmageddon, emancipation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-11
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-06-01 14:08:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 49,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6523210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/congressmanmabel/pseuds/congressmanmabel, https://archiveofourown.org/users/nuttersincorporated/pseuds/nuttersincorporated
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the midst of Weirdmageddon, Pacifica Northwest discovered an unlikely parental figure she could look up to. Once the town was saved, her family moved from the sleepy rural town after losing most of their fortune. Now Pacifica takes action and heads back to the place and person she calls home.</p>
<p>(Essentially, this is a Fiddleford takes Pacifica in as his surrogate daughter story)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pacifica travels to Gravity Falls by bus to escape her parents' iron grip. During the long ride, her mind drifts back to the events of Weirdmageddon and the unusual person she looked up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ever since GF ended (and what an awesome ending!), I was toying with the idea of Pacifica befriending Fiddleford during Weirdmageddon and seeing him as the responsible adult figure she never had. Also, I thought it would be cool to have Pacifica cut ties from her awful parents and move in with Fiddleford, who would be a better parent for her than they ever were. 
> 
> Other ideas came in with Fiddleford, still retaining his eccentric and humble personality, bonding with Pacifica through normal family activities that she never did with her parents(going out for ice cream, etc.) as well hobbies that matched their personal interests (Pacifica helping Fiddleford with his engineering projects, Fiddleford and Pacifica setting up a makeshift mini-golf course in the house).
> 
> I wanted to do this fic for a while now, and even though I have other projects at hand, I figured 'what the heck! I'll give it a go!'
> 
> *** Also a special shout-out to nuttersincorporated for editing and adding parts of the story! You rock!
> 
> Anyways, I hope you readers at home enjoy!
> 
> (TW: Mild Violence and mentions of Emotional Abuse)

It was a rainy September morning in the city of Portland, Oregon when Pacifica Northwest was standing in line at the bus station, ticket in hand. The once esteemed heiress of the Northwest family was donned in her trench coat, purple bandana and sunglasses. She lifted off her unnecessary eye wear when she saw the bus arriving. _My chariot awaits._ She mused. Her parents were unaware of her whereabouts, but she believed it was better this way.

It was over three weeks since her family moved from Gravity Falls. Her parents believed it would be better for her since their reputation was tarnished in the aftermath of Weirdmageddon. Once again, they made the wrong judgement.

Pacifica didn’t want to leave her hometown behind, but her parents insisted it was for the best. Her mother even broke her promise of keeping one horse, since they had to sell all of their extra assets for financial stability. Even though Pacifica no longer possessed her beloved horses, she still insisted that they were sold to an equestrian farm as opposed to the glue factory. Thankfully her parents obliged.

Pacifica was still upset at her parents for their askew priorities. There was not a day that went by in which either her mother or her father did not discuss the state of their finances. The young girl was annoyed with their talk of money. She knew her parents still had at least three million dollars in savings, so technically, they were still millionaires. However, this ‘meagre’ amount would never be enough to satisfy her father, who was still devastated with the near-collapse of the Northwest family fortune.

Her tolerance for her parents’ greed had finally snapped. Even though her father’s bell no longer worked as well as it used to, she couldn’t handle living with them anymore. Their woe-is-me attitude was too much for the young girl to bear.

So she decided to take matters into her own hands.

Pacifica was able to empty out all of the money in her savings account before her parents could put their selfish hands into it. She bought a one-way bus ticket to Gravity Falls, packed up her belongings, and left the apartment before her parents returned home. Now that the bus pulled in, she was able to make her great escape from her parents' clutches.

Pacifica slowly entered the Speedy Beaver bus, taking careful steps up the entryway before walking down the dirty, gum-littered aisle. There were only five other passengers on the bus, so finding an open seat was not a difficult task. After moments of hesitation, she decided to sit in the middle.

Settling herself on the worn-out leather seat, Pacifica gathered her belongings underneath her feet. The girl wistfully looked outside the window, gazing at the moving scenery while she was deep in contemplation over the life-changing events that occurred over a month ago.....

* * *

The whole community of Gravity Falls was consumed by chaos and destruction. The triangular beast by the name of Bill Cipher declared his leadership over the Oregon town and unleashed his surreal mania onto its vulnerable inhabitants. Under the hellfire orange sky a multitude of anomalous abominations wreaked havoc on the defenseless town. Innocent people were turned to stone by merciless eyebats, buildings ravaged by flames collapsed, and the once lush-green environment deteriorated into what she could only describe as hell on earth. Within a day's time, the sleepy forested town transformed into an isolated war zone.

The civilians knew that there was no sanctuary from the devastation caused by the outlandish beasts. Even the few stragglers who wandered aimlessly in search of shelter were vulnerable to the abhorrent forces that roamed from above.

Deep past the threshold of the forest, Pacifica Northwest hid in fear. The blonde girl was crouched down within a bush in the hopes that she wouldn't be spotted by the sadistic hell spawns that prowled throughout the town. Her mother, Priscilla Northwest, told her to stay put while she went out to find food at the closest convenient store, reassuring her daughter that she would return to the hiding spot in two hours tops. A whole day had past since she left.

Her father, Preston Northwest, had his face horrifically rearranged by Bill, and was captured by a green monstrosity with 8-Balls for eyes. Noting that her mother had not returned, Pacifica began to fear for the worst. _If both of my parents are gone, then what's going to happen to me?_   She pondered anxiously, the uncertainty of her fate lingering inside her mind. Tears started to spill from her eyes, smearing the mascara and eyeliner to the point of devolving into black blots that nearly blinded her peripheral vision. Her ruined make-up would normally peeve her off to no end, but she was too afraid about the apocalyptic travesty around her to even care about such frivolous matters. She hugged her knees close to her chest, praying that all of this madness would end.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps approached the bush. The young girl's eyes shot open in terror. _Who or what is that?_ The poor, vulnerable girl squeezed her eyes shut, silently hoping that whoever or whatever was advancing towards her would quickly put her out of her misery.

"Pacifica Northwest?"

The blonde was shocked to hear such a warm and comforting, albeit shrill, voice say her name. Cautiously turning around, she saw a bearded hillbilly sporting green-lens spectacles carrying an olive-green backpack and a knapsack.

"Old Man McGucket?" Pacifica inquired, raising her brow. It was quite odd to see an unlikely familiar face under dire circumstances. She wouldn’t have thought someone who generally drew as much attention to himself as he did would have been able to avoid capture by Bill’s minions for more than a few hours. Then again, now that she thought about it, he’d been living in the city dump for as long as she could remember so she supposed he must have some survival skills.

McGucket gave the girl a friendly smile as he tipped his tattered brown hat to her. The hillbilly knelt down beside the young blonde and placed his knapsack onto the grass. Untying the yellow sack, he spread out the cloth to reveal several cans of brown meat. McGucket pulled out a Swiss army knife from his overall pocket and stabbed the aluminum can in circular fashion, severing the lid clean. The unkempt man grabbed a worn-out metal spoon from his pocket, dipping it into the meat. He extended the can out to the girl, offering the humble meal to the young aristocrat.

Pacifica was shocked on a number of levels. In this time of disarray, food was scarce to come by and her stomach rumbled for joy at the can that laid before her eyes. But Old Man McGucket, the local kook, was giving her, a member of the infamous Northwest family, a simple can of brown meat. What did she ever do to deserve such a meal in these desperate times. She wanted to believe that this was some kind of cruel joke.

"Why are you giving me food?" She asked skeptically.

"I figured ya might be hungry." McGucket replied, giving her a small, earnest smile.

The blonde girl quizzically inspected the can of brown meat before reluctantly accepting the food. In normal circumstances she would never dare attempt to consume such mediocre cuisine. But her stomach growled in protest, wanting to be satiated with whatever she could digest. Sighing to herself, she gingerly scooped a spoonful of meat with the aged utensil and proceeded to eat. Much to her surprise, the brown meat was serviceable, delectable even. She continued to dig into the can, munching the meat to her heart's content until the can was empty.

Reaching into her pocket, she grabbed a spare handkerchief and proceeded to wipe the meat grease off her mouth. Grateful for the meal that was given to her, she turned to McGucket before voicing her appreciation. “Thank you for the food."

"Yer welcome miss." He nodded with a smile. There was a silent pause between the two. Pacifica was deep in thought, contemplating to herself as she rubbed her arm. _Why is he being so nice to me?_   She pondered. McGucket was also in a contemplative state. He knew that Pacifica had a family, but why was she left all alone in the middle of the woods? The eccentric old man was unaware of the disastrous fates of Preston and Priscilla Northwest and he didn’t know whether she was waiting for her family, abandoned by them, or the sole survivor of her kin. He knew that Pacifica would be distraught if he asked, but answers were necessary if he wanted to properly assist her. Drawing a long sigh, he decided to gently approach the dreadful topic.

"So Pacifica, how is it that a precious youngster such as yerself not bein' looked after an' properly cared for?"

Pacifica looked downwards, averting her gaze from the concerned hillbilly before she replied. "My father was captured by some monster yesterday after becoming disfigured, and my mother went out to scavenge for food, but she must have disappeared." The prestigious girl let out a somber sigh. She assumed that the lone traveler would give her some falsified pity for her troubles before continuing on his merry way. However, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. Taken aback by the soft reaction, the girl looked up at McGucket. Pacifica looked into his visage behind the green-tinted glasses to discover a mixture of sadness, kindness and sympathy pooling from his eyes.

"I know that ya must be feelin' scared, but I can assure ya that you won't be left by yer lonesome anymore. I'm gonna help ya get through this." McGucket slowly lifted himself up from the ground, carefully inspecting his surroundings from the hiding spot.

"Why are you getting up?" Pacifica questioned, her tone suspicious of the old man’s actions.

"Well we can't accomplish anythin' by hidin' out here in the open forever, now can we?" Fiddleford responded, lending his hand out to her. "I was in the midst of searchin' for shelter an' I want you ta come with me. A young girl like you deserves ta be safe from this apocalyptic mess."

The blonde was astonished at what she heard. This man, the town maniac no less, was here to help her. She was unsure if joining him would lead her to any good or uncertain doom, but she knew that accompanying him was far better than hiding in bushes all alone, wallowing in fear. Realizing that this was her only opportunity to reach safety, she pulled her cardigan sleeve over her hand before taking hold of McGucket's hand. The bearded man carefully pulled the blonde girl up onto her feet. After ensuring that the trail ahead of them was clear from any malevolent forces, McGucket gently led Pacifica down the road to asylum.

\-------

As they started their search for shelter, the two were silent, mostly from fear of being spotted by one of Bill's Henchmaniacs. Pacifica wondered if she could truly place her faith on McGucket. The old eccentric was extremely notorious for his reputation as the town fool of Gravity Falls. The local maniac would spend his days ranting and raving at clueless bystanders as well as inventing destructive robots that would run rampant in the streets. The blonde girl glanced upwards at the eccentric hillbilly. She immediately took notice of how calm and determined he looked, especially during an event as chaotic as Weirdmageddon. The old man's eyes were no longer bugged out sideways as usual. Now they were straightened forwards and hardened. He inspected his surroundings, making sure that there was no sign of any dangerous creature or weirdness bubble.

The two companions halted when they heard the cries of a young child.

Slowly and carefully, the unlikely duo crept towards the source of the wailing. They peered from behind a decaying pine tree to discover a small, chubby brown-haired boy leaning against a boulder. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he rubbed the sides of his scraped knee, searching for a way to cease the burning sensation and pain from his wound.

The bearded hillbilly began to walk towards the boy. Pacifica hesitantly followed close behind the hillbilly.

"Hey there lil' fella." McGucket greeted with the same gentle voice he had used to reassure Pacifica. "I see the damage on yer knee, but I'm here ta help, so there’s no need ta fret now." He rummaged through his long, dirtied beard and pulled out a small first aid kit. Opening the metal case, he pulled out a half-full tube of antibiotic cream and a box of bandages.

"So tell me, what's yer name?" The man asked politely, his accented voice soft and calming.

"Gour...G-Gourney." The boy answered as a small sob escaped.

"Well Gourney, my name is Fiddleford Hadron McGucket. The lovely young lady next ta me is Pacifica Northwest and we're gonna help ya out."

The blonde girl whipped her head towards McGucket, bewildered at the hillbilly's comment. _How am I going to be of any help?_ She thought quizzically. _I don’t have any apocalypse-survival knowledge._ She broke from her musings by the loud thud of the backpack. The old man looked at her as he spoke. "Now Pacifica, I need you to grab a can of meat from this here backpack and cut it open with my knife so that this poor boy can have somethin' ta eat."

Retrieving the Swiss army knife from his pocket, he gently handed the tool to the perplexed girl. Pacifica inspected the knife, trying to find the appropriate blade. Her hands-on experience with tools was virtually non-existent due to her courtly and elitist upbringing, not counting the multitude of fancy eating utensils she had to properly correlate to each appropriate meal. She knew that if she wanted to survive, she had to adapt to the harsh and gritty environment, even if that meant getting her hands dirty. But within the myriad of different tools, she was able to find the appropriate knife. She grabbed the first can of meat she could find inside the bag and went to work. It took Pacifica a couple of pathetic attempts before she punctured a hole in the can. She deeply concentrated on the task of carving a circle, which took longer than she expected.

While she was cutting, she overheard Fiddleford calmly treating the poor boy's knee scrape, pacifying the child with soothing words as he carefully applied the cream on the injury. Gourney held back his weeping when he felt the stinging sensation on his knee, the medication taking action against the scrape. Once the cream was spread out, Fiddleford began to take out a large adhesive bandage.

"Now yer not allergic ta any adhesives or latex are ya?" The hillbilly asked softly. Gourney shook his head while humming a "nuh-uh". Fiddleford opened up the bandage and gently placed it over the boy's knee scrape.

“There ya go!” He proclaimed. “Now yer knee is safe from infection!”

Fortunately, Pacifica was able to sever the lid from the top of the can and offered the food to Gourney. “Here you go.” She told the boy. “I don’t know how you feel about brown meat, but I’m sure you need it.”

Gourney took the can and inspected it. Taking a small spoonful of meat into his mouth and placed it in his mouth, carefully chewing the meat before swallowing it. He instantly felt relieved that he was eating after suffering from starvation for so long. He starting eating at a faster pace to satiate his grumbling stomach. The boy felt relieved after finishing the canned meal. He noticed the old man and the blonde girl were still beside him.

Gourney was at a loss for words. The poor boy was separated from his family ever since Weirdmageddon began and was fearful that he would get captured by one of Bill’s minions. However, these two kind souls arrived to help during his time of need, offering him medical care and nourishment. Tears of gratefulness welled in his eyes. The boy rushed towards the two and hugged them.

“Thank you so much.” Gourney sniffled, his voice muffled in Pacifica’s purple cardigan. She was taken aback by the boy’s kind words. _All I did was open up a lousy can of meat, it’s not like I saved him from one of the monsters or anything of the sort._ But after moments of reflection, she realized that he must have been starving for over a day and was relieved that she gave him something to eat. _Perhaps I did do some good by feeding the kid._

The girl glanced over at Fiddleford, who knelt down to the boy and returning his embrace. Pacifica decided to mimic the hillbilly’s actions as she wrapped her left arm around the thankful child. She felt personal satisfaction helping this boy. She sensed the wave of determination flooding within her, discovering what she could be capable of in terms of helping other survivors. As the world crumbled around her, Pacifica felt invigorated by her newfound sense of conviction.

As the boy was released from the embrace, an idea popped into Fiddleford’s mind. He decided to address his plan to the two children. “I was thinkin’ that we would be able to find shelter over at the Mystery Shack since it’s the closest landmark in Gravity Falls. An’ since it’s located in the woods an’ faraway from the town center, I assume that it wouldn’t be damaged.”

“Sounds like a safe bet.” Pacifca agreed. _Perhaps Dipper and Mabel are safe there._ She mused optimistically. Gourney also nodded, but was distracted by his bandaged knee. The blonde took note of the pained expression on the boy’s face.

“Are you able to walk?” Pacifica asked, her voice soothing with concern. The boy shook his head.

“Alright then, how would you like a piggy-back ride?” Fiddleford offered.

“Okay!” Gourney replied, giving him a wide smile. Pacifica had to admit that seeing the boy happy was first wonderful sight she saw in a long while.

“Pacifica, could ya carry the survival packs for me while I carry Gourney?” Fiddleford asked, dropping his backpack and knapsack on the ground.

The blonde girl nodded at the bearded man. She knelt to the ground and picked up the baggage, surprised that she could even lift the heavy pack with all of the survival tools inside. She secured the backpack on her shoulders before grabbing the knapsack and heaving it over her right shoulder. Fiddleford bent down, allowing the boy to properly grip his small arms around his aged shoulders before standing up as high as his bony, bowed legs would tolerate.

“You ready Pacifca?” He asked.

“You know it.” She responded, flashing a confident smile.

“Let’s do this.” Fiddleford affirmed, leading her on the trail to safety.

\-------

During their journey, the ragtag trio came across many survivors, both human and supernatural, and invited to join them in their search for the Mystery Shack. They were first approached by Candy Chiu, who hid herself on a large tree branch. Not long afterwards, they discovered Grenda and Sheriff Blubs, who were attempting to cook a squirrel over a fire and were relieved to see the brown meat offered to them. They said that Mayor Tyler Cutebiker and Manly Dan Corduroy were previously with them, but went missing. Later on, the group was approached by two teenage girls, a blonde trucker, a tattooed biker and the U.S.A. guy, all of whom barely escaped the wrath of a giant Gompers.

There was also a good number of supernatural creatures that joined the struggling pack. They first discovered a group of gnomes, one of which was half-petrified in stone. The colony of pointy-hatted men was in search of protection from the Oddpocalyptic onslaught. Not long afterwards, the group came across the Lilputtians. After the anthropomorphic golf balls gave Pacifica a sincere apology for the mini-golf incident, the walking European stereotypes were brought on board. Later on in the journey, they overheard a heated argument between three of the Manotaurs and the Multibear. Fiddleford stepped in to intervene, ultimately bringing the verbal battle to a halt. The hillbilly acted as the mediator, hearing both sides of the story. Turns out that the Manotaurs wanted to eat the Multibear’s giant cassette player. Fortunately, Fiddleford offered the four creatures brown meat after they vowed to cease arguing. He also suggested that they join the nomadic group, promising them that they would find sanctuary at the Mystery Shack. The four immediately accepted McGucket’s proposal.

Pacifica was surprised that even the unnatural inhabitants of the woods joined their strange party. During the last few weeks, the town newspaper had been full of stories about strange creatures and after her experience with a vengeful ghost she hadn’t thought any of them would have been openly friendly to humans. If anything, she would have thought they’d have been on Bill’s side but most of them seemed as scared of the demon and his minions as the humans were.

On their trail, Pacifica not only improved her can-opening skill, but assisted Fiddleford in bandaging the survivors who had serious cuts. She learned how to clean scratches with water, applying antibiotic ointment on the wound to prevent infection, and neatly wrap the injury with medical gauze. Pacifica was uneasy about this task at first, due to the germaphobia she developed by her strict upbringing. However Fiddleford noticed how squeamish the girl was, and provided her with medical gloves from his backpack. She was both relieved and silently grateful for McGucket’s intervention. Despite the messy undertaking, Pacifica was proud that she was able to help and acquired more practical knowledge and skills from the unconventional hillbilly.

The journey was long and strenuous, but the nomads managed to reach the Mystery Shack before sundown. The group was relieved to find that the tourist trap was still intact despite the destruction Bill and his minions brought upon the poor town. Fiddleford checked to see if the coast was clear before leading the group of exhausted wayfarers to the front porch of their newfound sanctuary. Pacifica stood beside McGucket, who was nervous about confronting Stan Pines and asking him for shelter. Pacifca noted how uneasy he was feeling and decided to help the poor man.

“Hey,” Fiddleford was brought out of his insecure state and gazed down at the young lady looking up at him with no trace of fear. “It’s gonna be fine.” She spoke softly. “If you lose your words, I’ll vouch for you.”

The old man was touched by Pacifica’s short pep talk, giving her a sincere smile. Taking a deep breath, Fiddleford knocked on the door, silently hoping that Stan would not give him a hard time and that he would grant his group asylum from the chaos.

The door swiftly opened, revealing a tired Stan Pines. Pacifica and Fiddleford noticed the dark circles under the con man’s bleary eyes, the small tears on his iconic suit and the stench of sweat that coated him. He wore a long frown, which slightly intimidated the hillbilly. After his previous encounters with the fez-headed man, McGucket realized that he had to convince the irritable man.

“Mr. Pines,” Fiddleford stated, taking off his comically large brown hat to reveal the small tufts of grey hair on top of his head. “I know that you don’t wanna have anythin’ ta do wit me, an’ I don’t blame ya, but please give these innocent people a safe place ta stay!” He dropped down on his knees, bewildering Stan in the process.

“Yeah, we’ve been struggling to survive Bill Cipher’s outlandish assault for almost two days now!” Pacifica added.

“Please Mr. Pines, I-” Fiddleford stopped in mid-sentence when he heard the ear-piercing screech of an eyebat.

“Quick! Everyone get inside now!” Stan loudly ordered, opening his door to allow the frightened stragglers inside. As the group made their way in the home, Fiddleford instinctively lifted Pacifica up alongside Gourney, preventing them from being trampled on by the others. Fortunately, everyone in the pack safely retreated inside the shack and closed the door before the eyebat could attack. Fiddleford gently placed Pacifica and Gourney back on the floor, letting out a small sigh of relief.

“You don’t have to worry about those spooky creeps any longer.” Stan stated. Fiddleford and Pacifica jerked their heads towards the con man.

“What are you talking about?” Pacifica asked while she dropped the bags of equipment onto the floor.

“I mean the house is completely weird-proofed. Dipper and some other nerd I know created some sorta force shield from unicorn hair that would ward off any dangerous creature. Despite the questionable approach, the shack is totally protected from any outside harm.”

Pacifica smiled after hearing Stan’s explanation. _That definitely sounds like something Dipper would do._ She pondered.

“Speaking of which, have you all happened to find my niece and nephew anywhere?” He asked. His eyes scanned the group in the hopes that he would come across the young twins. Many of the survivors shook their heads, wearing sad expressions on their faces.

“I’m sorry Mr. Pines, we weren’t able to find ‘em anywhere.” Fiddleford wistfully replied.

Stan’s expression fell for a moment before instantly changing into a grouchy, authoritarian look. “Alright, there’s two rules in this house. Don’t go upstairs and don’t touch anything unless I give you permission to do so. Now go make yourselves comfortable!”

With that, Stan rushed up the stairs, leaving the stragglers to their own devices. Pacifica approached Fiddleford, who carefully inspected his surroundings as though he was familiar with the place. Unaware of the nostalgia Fiddleford was experiencing, she verbally expressed her concern.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

“I’m fine darlin’.” He replied. “It’s been a while since I last visited this place. At least while I was in my right mind.” Despite Fiddleford's light chuckling, Pacifica was still in the dark over what that last part meant. 

"Listen, I'm just gonna take a short walk around the house ta help jog my memory. I'll return in a few minutes in case you need anythin'." Pacifica nodded at the old man. Fiddleford returned the smile before making his exit from the living room. 

The young blonde couldn't help but wonder how Fiddleford ever became associated with the Pines. But her train of thought was broken by the clanging noises that erupted in the kitchen. She ran towards the room only to discover the mass chaos that ensued. 

All of the survivors were violently scavenging through the cabinets and refrigerator in search for food. Humans and creatures alike were spilling cans of brown meat onto the floor and fighting over whatever sustenance they could get their hands on. Pacifica watched in horror at the pandemonium that unfolded before her eyes. _It's an absolute madhouse in here!_

Just when things couldn't get any crazier, Pacifica was shoved to the side by an irate Stan Pines. 

"What the hell is goin' on here?!?" The con man roared. His presence alone brought the fighting to a halt. The stragglers gazed at Stan with fearful eyes. "I leave you people alone for _two minutes_ and this is what I get for invitin' you in!? Don't you even remember the rules I just told ya!!!" 

Whatever patience Stan Pines possessed ever since the beginning of Weirdmageddon had vanished and his anger flew threw the roof. The businessman bellowed a loud battle cry before pummeling two of the manotaurs to the floor. Upon wrestling the muscular beasts, everyone else decided to continue the physical brawl. 

 _I need to find McGucket_. Pacifica thought. Turning around, she ran down the halls in the hopes of reaching to the old eccentric. When she returned to the living room, she was distraught to find that there was not a single person besides herself. She frantically ran around the first floor until she found a door left ajar. She picked up her pace until she approached the room. The blonde found the bearded man writing on a portable chalkboard. Pacifica gently knocked on the door to alert him of her presence. 

Fiddleford was startled by the sound and turned around. His face lit up in a smile to see the young blonde. "Howdy Pacifica!" He greeted.

"McGucket, there's a huge fight in the kitchen." Pacifica informed him.

"What?!"

"All of the survivors were rummaging the kitchen for food, Mr. Pines yelled at them and decided to fight them! It's become an all-out battle royale out there!"

"Sweet Sasparilla!" He shrieked. "We gotta git everyone ta cooperate if we wanna make this work. Fortunately, I got a plan that will put all our qualms about sustenance ta rest!"

The old man wheeled the chalkboard out of the room and down the hallway with Pacifica following from behind. As Fiddleford and Pacifica sprinted their way towards the kitchen, they discovered that the brawl took itself into the living room. Stan especially was a participant as he gave left hook after left hook at the band of gnomes.

McGucket decided to walk towards the fighting, his head held high with determination. Pacifica could only look at the hillbilly in awe and anxiety, fearing that he would be beaten by the others.

Fiddleford stopped in his tracks and gave a loud whistle. The fighting ceased as the whistle silenced everyone in the room. They all gave McGucket their undivided attention.

"Now that everyone's done horseplayin', I have a solution to our current food crisis." Fiddleford stood on top of a wooden crate and flipped over the chalk board to reveal a drawn-out map of the forest, including a white line connecting the Mystery Shack to a circled tree. He pointed his illustration and continued to speak. "In the forest, there's an underground bunker that has an enormous stash of food that'll last us a long while. It’s not too far from the Mystery Shack and I know how to access it. However, I'm gonna need some helpin' hands to carry as much food as possible. So I'm goin' ta need a few volunteers."

There was hushed murmuring among the stragglers. Fiddleford was fearful that they would point and laugh at his suggestions, calling him ‘crazy’ or ‘off his rockers’. He was about to step down from his make-shift podium in defeat, but a few brave individuals stepped forward.

"I'll join." Sheriff Blubs stated as he walked ahead of the crowd.

"I volunteer as tribute!" Grenda declared solemnly, raising her arm up into the air. Fiddleford’s face went blank with confusion at the reference but Pacifica laughed so he figured it was a joke and smiled.

"I'll go with you." Candy Chiu added, standing right beside Grenda.  
  
"I'm in." Chutzpar the Manotaur said.

Fiddleford was pleased to see the number of willing participants. Granted, it would have been nice if some of the stronger supernatural creatures had volunteered instead of two of the children but any help was welcome. "Excellent! We'll begin our trek early tomorrow mornin' an' we'll return with more food for everyone!"

The stragglers cheered in response, giving the eccentric approval of his plan. Pacifica looked to Fiddleford, giving him a small, but sincere smile. In return Fiddleford beamed joyfully at the girl.

"Hey!" A gruff voice sounded, almost demolishing the duo's heartfelt moment. Fiddleford turned to his left to discover Stan Pines, wearing his frown, with his arms crossed. "I want to speak with you alone."

Fiddleford looked to Pacifica. She gave him a nod before he stepped down. Fiddleford was nervous about confronting Stan, but there was something in the con man's dark brown eyes that told him that he wouldn't receive any scolding. Stan led Fiddleford away from the chalkboard, sliding their way through the crowd. The young girl watched as the two old men exited the living room. 

\-------

Later that evening, Pacifica tried to fall asleep on the makeshift bed in the hallway, but it was too difficult. The cold air seeping through the house gave her goosebumps all over her body. She fervently rubbed her arms in order to stay warm, but to no avail.

Suddenly, she heard two pairs of shuffling footsteps drawing close to her mattress. She shut her eyes, pretending she was asleep. She listened in on two hushed voices conversing.

“I can’t thank ya enough fer allowin’ us ta stay at the shack Stanley.” A familiar accented voice said.

 _Stanley?_ Pacifica thought. _Isn’t his name Stanford?_

“Eh, don’t mention it,” Stan shrugged.

“I still can’t believe you have a surplus of blankets in store.” Fiddleford added, his voice drawing closer to where Pacifica was ‘sleeping’.

“Yeah well, I figured that having an abundant number of blankets around would beat having to pay for heating." The businessman casually explained. "What can I say, I’m a frugal man.”

The girl tried to remain still despite her shivering. But out of the blue, she felt the texture of warm fleece blanket coating her quaking body, as well as a delicate hand gently ruffling her hair. She heard the creaking of the hardwood floorboards as the two men vacated the hallway.

Curiosity got the best of Pacifica as the girl silently rose from her bed, wrapped the blanket around her and tiptoed towards the living room entrance. She peeked from behind the wall to get a better look, hoping that the darkness that enveloped the room would shield her from the two adults.

“You miss Dipper an’ Mabel, don’t cha?” Fiddleford softly inquired. Stan didn’t need to verbally answer the hillbilly’s query. He let out a sorrowful sigh, his eyes downcast on the carpeted floor.

“I can empathize wit what yer goin’ through." McGucket spoke up. "The pangs of guilt fer not savin’ yer loved ones, the self-loathin' fer not doin’ more fer ‘em.”

Stan lifted his head up almost immediately. Furrowing his brow, he stared doubtfully at the eccentric man.

“I lost my son Tate ta that demonic triangle.” Fiddleford explained, his voice filled with grief. “I was residin’ in the bunker fer the past few weeks, an’ I installed security cameras so I could keep an eye on the town. An’ when Weirdmageddon began, one of them eyebats petrified Tate to stone and brought him over to Bill’s estate. An’ I feel terrible fer not bein’ there fer him. I should ‘ave protected him from Bill’s monstrous minions.”

Pacifica gaped at Fiddleford’s story. She never took into consideration that Fiddleford had family that he deeply cared for. She was also saddened to hear his proclamation of guilt and self-hatred.

Stan felt guilty for undermining the eccentric hillbilly. He was aware that McGucket and his son were not on the best of terms, but he knew that the old coot still loved his kid. Stan realized that with Dipper and Mabel, there was the possibility that they are still out there on another part of town and that they had a fighting chance. _If anyone could survive in this craziness it was them._ He had to hold on to that thought.

“I was a coward fer not doin’ anythin’ ta protect my lil’ Tater Tot! I don’t think I could forgive myself! I can’t-”

Fiddleford was silenced when he was pulled into a fierce bear hug. It took him a while to assess the situation, that Stan was reluctantly comforting him. The old man resumed sobbing, soaking the con man’s suit with his tears.

“Hey now, don’t cry.” Stan spoke, attempting to console the old southerner. “You can’t be wastin’ your energy regretting the past.” Fiddleford’s scrawny frame shook harder. Assuaging people who weren’t family was not one of Stan’s strong suits, but he continued to try and calm the hillbilly down anyways.

“You’re not a coward. Heck, you saved all those people today and brought them here to safety. So you’re much braver than you give yourself credit for.”

Fiddleford wrapped his arms around Stan and gave him a gentle squeeze. The old con man was unused to people outside of his family giving him affection. Reluctantly, he rubbed the southerner’s bony back up and down as a way of physically comforting him. It took Fiddleford five minutes to expel the rest of his sobs. When he the last of his tears had shed, he slowly released himself from Stan’s hold and tearfully smiled at the businessman.

“Thank you so much.” McGucket said softly.

“Don’t mention it. Ever.” Stan told him sternly, still feeling uneasy. “...but we all gotta cry sometimes I suppose.”

Fiddleford nodded in agreement while wiping away an oncoming tear in his right eye. However, he gave a yelp when he felt two strong arms sweep him off his feet without warning. Stan heaved Fiddleford and walked towards the armchair. He gently placed the southerner in the comfortable couch before he unceremoniously dropped the comforter onto McGucket.

"You better get some shut eye. I'll be on the lookout for any spookums while you sleep." Stan said, “I’m gonna go grab my shotgun.”

Fiddleford was astonished at Stan’s kind gestures. It was truly a pleasant surprise to see the more human side to the gruff old man. "Thank you Stanley."

"Sure thing." Stan mumbled. "Now get some rest possum breath. We got a long day ahead of us tomorrow and I can't allow you to be sleep-deprived."

With that, Stan exited the living room, taking the only source of light with him. Pacifica moved towards the kitchen to avoid Stan’s detection. When she saw the lantern light disappear, she stealthily crept towards the living room entrance.

Pacifica gave a small smile at the sleeping figure on the couch.

“Blondie!” A gruff voice whispered. Pacifica whipped her head around only to see Stan standing on the stairs with the lantern light off.

Pacifica was flustered upon getting caught. “H-how long have you been standing there?!”

“Long enough.” Stan huffed. “I want you to know two things. First off, you can’t tell another soul about my real name, got it?” Pacifica nodded reluctantly, not sure why it even mattered to her host.

“Secondly, just because you’re safe from strolling outside tomorrow doesn’t mean that you get to take it easy! I’m gonna need you’re help with taking care of the others while my right-hand man is gone.”

The girl was miffed with the con man’s commands. “Why are you dumping all of this responsibility on me?”

“Hey, I may be the leader, but I’m gonna need some extra hands to do my bidding.” He retorted. “Also, I know that you have a soft spot for that old coot, and having you assist me might make him proud of ya.”

Pacifica was livid with Stan. _Why does he have to state the truth out loud?_ “Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” She lied, crossing her arms in emphasis.

“Don’t try and fool me little girl! I know you like him.” Stan snapped as he walked up the steps. He halted before speaking at a softer tone.

“.....and I can understand why.”

Pacifica was stunned. Stan knew the truth and there was no denying it. Sighing to herself, she retreated to the makeshift bed and drifted off to sleep.

\---------

The next morning, Fiddleford and his rag-tag group each ate a can of brown meat before they started their perilous mission. McGucket, Sheriff Blubs, Candy, Grenda, and Chutzpar all carried backpacks and sacks to stock the food in. Just as they were about to exit the shack, a wobbling voice halted them in their tracks.

"Wait!" Pacifica shouted. She sprinted towards the southern man.

"Pacifica? Is somethin' wrong dear?" Fiddleford asked worriedly, kneeling on the ground to converse with her at eye level.

She glanced at the hardwood floor, trying to muster her courage before speaking. "You better be safe out there, okay?" She told him, her voice slightly wavering. She attempted to cover her worry with the fierce look on her face. "And if you don't come back to the Mystery Shack, I'll sue the overalls off of you. Got it?"

McGucket gave a light chuckle as he carefully held his reassuring hands over her frightful ones. Pacifica was surprised at Fiddleford’s action. "Don't worry Pacifica, I'll make sure that the group and I will be extra careful, and we'll be back with a truckload of food before ya know it!"

Fiddleford gently squeezed her hands before he got up. Hauling his backpack onto his shoulders, he addressed to his team. "It's gonna be dangerous, but remember to lay low and follow my lead." The other members nodded.

With that, McGucket and his crew stealthily stepped outside the Mystery Shack. Pacifica closed the door before running towards the window. She saw McGucket and his crew running into the woods, successfully avoiding attention of the surreal beasts that roamed outside. The blonde walked away from the window and perched herself against the wall. She was concerned for their safety, especially Fiddleford’s. She silently placed her faith in the bearded man, knowing that he will carefully lead his ragtag team to obtain more food for the rest of the survivors.  
  
\---------

Seven hours had passed since Fiddleford and his crew left in search of more food. Within that time Pacifica gained more information concerning first aid procedures from Stan as they patched up the others in the make-shift emergency room. She even received sewing lessons from the grouchy man, learning how to mend bits of rags into something wearable. Afterwards, Stan gave Pacifica a list of chores around the house, ranging from sweeping the floor to doing the dishes, while Stan retreated to his lounge-chair to catch up on his reading. She didn’t know what to make of the con man; he was very knowledgeable, sure, but he chooses to lay around the house when there was work to be done.

She continued to brush the dirt off the floor with a broom until she heard the sound of heavy footsteps from outside. Pacifica rushed to the front window, swiping the curtain off to the side to get a better view. She saw Fiddleford carrying a box full of canned meat, leading the group who also carried mass amounts of sustenance either by hand or by wheelbarrow. Pacifica also took note of the newer faces that joined the pack; A mustachioed gentleman with a stone woodpecker on his shoulder, a hot dog vendor, Several Timez, Rumbles McSkirmish, a disheveled gnome, two unicorns, and.....Toby Determined? The hapless 'news reporter' sported a blue mohawk, a pink shirt, leather pants. He was making a miserable attempt at pulling off a post-apocalyptic punk look and it wasn’t working for him at all.

As the pack drew closer to the Mystery Shack, Several Timez were singing what sounded like a folk song about Soos of all things. 

_Though the evil triangle attacks,_

_Soos the Handyman has got your back!_

"We're back with the goods!" McGucket proclaimed as he and his team entered inside the shack. Multibear and the other two Manotaurs warmly welcomed the new people inside the shack and helped carry the surplus of food while leading them towards the kitchen. The unkempt gnome waltzed ahead of McGucket and took note of his fellow brethren. "Shmebulock!"

"Shmebulock!" Jeff the Gnome cried with joy, tears of happiness spilling from his eyes. The head gnome ran as fast as his tiny legs would allow before pulling his dirty companion in a loving embrace. "I'm so relieved to see you! I thought you were a goner, but thank goodness you're alive!" He lovingly rocked his compatriot side to side, hanging onto him for dear life. Once Jeff released Shmebulock from his hold, he turned towards the bearded hillbilly.

"I can't thank you enough for rescuing my friend Fiddleford! I'm eternally indebted to you!"

"Aw shucks, you don't have ta do anythin' for me." Fiddleford responded to the gnome leader. "It just warms my heart to see two pals happily reunite durin’ such tryin’ times."

"McGucket, you're bleeding!" Pacifica shouted fearfully, pointing at his injury.

The old hillbilly quickly glanced down at the massive scratch on his left arm. The gash was oozing with rose-red blood, dripping off of his arm and splattering on the dirtied floorboards. Only now did he realize the deep laceration on his appendage. 

"Oh! I must've got that from fightin' that eye bat earlier." He noted. The man snapped from his train of thought when he felt a small gloved hand pulling on his cast. Before Pacifica could lead the inventor out of the room, she heard a gravelly voice from the other side of the room.  
  
“McGucket, wait!” Stan called out. Pacifica and Fiddleford turned to look at the distressed con man. “Did you find the twins?”

Fiddleford sadly looked at the worried con man before giving a reply. “I’m sorry Stanley, I couldn’t find ‘em. But I asked everyone for news of 'em and Toby said he saw Dipper and Wendy. I didn’t see any sign of ‘em.”

Pacifica could have sworn that she saw a tear forming in the corner of Stan’s left eye, but the con man swiftly turned his back on them and when he turned around, his face was dry. “Toby, get over here,” he barked. “I've got some questions for you.” The con man dragged the startled middle-aged punk by the arm and retreated upstairs. Pacifica didn’t stay to listen, she could find out what the others knew later. Fiddleford’s injury was her priority at the moment. She looked back at Fiddleford, who was still in need of medical attention.

“Let me fix you up.” Pacifica calmly told McGucket, gingerly tugging at the hillbilly’s good arm and leading him out of the living room. The walk towards the makeshift emergency room was silent, but not awkward. Fiddleford was still crestfallen from that he hadn’t been able to give Stan better news. He felt as though he failed him. Pacifica was deep in thought figuring out how she could comfort Fiddleford.

The two entered the makeshift emergency room, which was already filled with other patients. She walked with the old man over towards a free table and two empty chairs, a serviceable place to nurse his injury. 

“Hey, you did the best you could, and Stan knows that.” Pacifica assuaged as the two took their seats. The young aristocrat opened the first aid kit and gathered the necessary supplies to properly care for the wound. “Perhaps Dipper and Mabel are together in another part of town, kicking some demon butt.”

“Well Toby said Dipper was looking for Mabel when he saw him, so maybe they are.” Fiddleford softly smiled at her for giving him the hopeful thought.

She diligently tended to his wound, using the skills he’d taught her only yesterday. As she applied a wet cloth onto his scratch, Fiddleford started telling her about the quest for food and the news the new members of their small band of survivors had told him as she nursed his arm. His words greatly helped Pacifica concentrate at the task at hand, focusing on his story rather than the blood. Taking the old man’s injured arm, she applied antibiotic cream on the injury. Immediately afterwards, the blonde carefully wrapped his arm with gauze, ensuring that the medical tape would suppress the bleeding. She also noticed a small cut on his left hand. Finding a band aid in the bottom of his bag of seemingly endless tricks, she placed the small adhesive onto his hand, smoothing it out over the small cut. Fiddleford couldn't help being surprised that she cared so much about such a tiny wound. Before Weirdmageddon started, and not counting Dipper and Mabel, it seemed like ages ago since anyone cared if he lived or died. Now here was this tiny girl from a well-to-do family worrying about him. Once Pacifica completed her task, she proudly nodded at her handiwork.  
  
"There, you should be good for now." She stated confidently.  
  
Fiddleford stared down at his now bandaged arm. He was astonished by how much she’s improved in terms of first aid care.  
  
"Why thank you Pacifica!" He told her. "You truly are a wonderful person."  
  
The blonde girl tried to cover up her embarrassment and pleasure at his words by laughing like it means nothing. "Don't mention it, alright. You've done so much for everyone, I figured that fixing your arm was the least I could do."

If Pacifica was being honest with herself, Fiddleford’s words meant a lot more than she was letting on. Growing up, her family had never offered much in the way of praise. It was always “Don’t let down the family name,” this or, “take that off this instant right now young lady,” that. One of her early nannies had complimented a picture she’d made but her father had complained about the mess she’d made and the nanny had been fired for allowing her to ruin her dress with paint. It wasn’t even like she would have worn the dress again anyway. Sometimes as a little girl, Pacifica had felt more like a doll her parents wanted to show off than an actual child. For years she assumed that was normal. If she ever did anything too bad her father used the bell. She hated that bell more than anything else in the world. Even now, Pacifica reflected, she hated the bell more than she hated Bill. That probably made her a bad person. Dipper would be disappointed if he knew, but she couldn't help it.....

McGucket was so different from her parents though. He genuinely seemed to care and Pacifica still didn't know why. She wasn't his family and, before the Weirdmagedon, she hadn’t ever done anything nice for him. She remembered the house party at the Mystery Shack earlier that summer and how she bribed the poor hillbilly five dollars if he applauded her so that she could win the party queen crown. Her cheeks burnt with shame of that memory. She hadn’t even known what sharing was until Mabel taught her and even after that, she hadn’t thought to help the local kook.

Pacifica felt like she didn't fit in anywhere. She wasn't the daughter her parents want but she didn't know how to be anything else either. Then she looked at Fiddleford’s kind smile. _Maybe I do belong somewhere and, right now, it’s here with McGucket._

Suddenly, Stan walked into the emergency room and approached the table. Fiddleford immediately became anxious, fearing that the con man felt nothing but resentment towards him.

“Listen Stanley, I’m sorry I couldn’t find Dipper an’ Mabel. I tried lookin’ for ‘em an-”

“I don’t wanna hear it.” Stan interrupted, holding a hand up. “You’ve done nothing wrong possum breath, so quit apologizing.” He pulled up a chair and took a seat before turning towards Pacifica. “Thanks for helping me out around the house blondie.”

She didn't know what to say. Maybe Fiddleford isn’t the only one who thinks she was just another Northwest waste of space. She opened her mouth to say something but Stan turned to Fiddleford before she could say anything. Perhaps it was probably for the best anyway.

“I wanna thank you for retrieving the surplus of food for everyone.” Stan told him gruffly. “I had enough to keep me going for a few weeks but not nearly enough to feed this ragtag lot of misfits you’ve landed me with.” Despite his rough tone it was clear that Stan didn't mind housing the survivors and he really was grateful for the extra food. He averted his eyes away embarrassed only to feel a warm hand place itself over his own. He looked up to find Fiddleford smiling at him.

“Yer welcome.” Fiddleford responded happily. “I figure it would settle us for a while for all the extra mouths I’ve brought ya.” The inventor then shifted himself in his seat before addressing an important issue that had been eating his mind for some time. “Now that we cleared up the food problem, I’ve been brainstormin’ lately on how we’re gonna defeat Bill, an-”

“Hold it right there, we are _not_ gonna go outside again!" Stan interrupted. "We’ve got the food we need now. Why would you wanna risk leaving again?”

“Well what else are we gonna do? We can’t just stay inside here forever!” Fiddleford reasoned. “There’s gonna be a point where we’re gonna run outta food-”

“Then we’ll feast on the gnomes.” Stan suggested and Pacifica is forcibly reminded of her father suggesting they hid from a ghost and eat the butler, though she _believed_ , unlike her father, that Stan was only joking.

“Stanley!” Fiddleford scolded brusque businessman for making such a morbid comment.

“Look, fighting against that demon is practically a death wish. We have everything we need in here, so why don’t you just forget about it.”

“ _NO I WON”T!!!_ ” Fiddleford snapped, slamming his right fist onto the table. Stan and Pacifica were taken aback by the southerner’s sudden outburst.

“I spent the last thirty-some-odd years tryin’ ta forget, an’ as a result I became a homeless, good-fer-nothin' wreck! Now that I’ve been regainin’ my memories, I don’t wanna forget anymore! I wanna be able ta help everyone, atone fer my past mistakes an’ save Ford!"

McGucket stood up from his seat and proceeded to make his exit. Stan watched in awe as Fiddleford stormed out of the room. Pacifica scooted from her chair and proceeded to follow Fiddleford’s cue.

“If I learned one thing from my experiences with your niece and nephew it’s that even when the going got tough, they still persevered through it all and triumphed over adversity. Dipper and Mabel are two of the bravest people I know and I assumed that the rest of their family were just as courageous. But now after hearing you prattle on about hiding from the enemy, I realize that you’re nothing more than a coward.”

\---------

The rest of the day was very awkward for the three of them. Fiddleford and Stan refused to talk to each other. Pacifica decided to stay close to Fiddleford most of the time. She couldn't help but agree with the inventor's logic. Yes, it was scary, but they couldn't hide in the shack forever.

She also couldn't understand Stan’s refusal to go outside again. _Surely he wants to find Dipper and Mabel? He still seems worried about them so why won’t he look? Is he really just a coward?_ This thought didn't seem to fit right in her head. _This was the man who scaled a cliff while punching an eagle before jumping off said cliff all to save his niece and nephew. Why won’t he do anything now._

Now there was the mystery of why he’s now apparently called _Stanley_ instead of _Stanford_ and Fiddleford wants to save someone named  _Ford_. There were so many things she did not understand and she wasn't sure how to ask. Staying close by Fiddleford's side made her feel a bit better though. 

\---------

Later that evening, Pacifica retreated to her makeshift bed by the stairwell. For the second night in a row, she struggled to fall asleep but from the snores coming from the other rooms. She believed she was the only one awake.

Pacifica eventually got up and made her way to the kitchen to get a drink. She poured herself a glass of water and started drinking it when she heared the front door open and close. She made her way towards the window to investigate. Peering out of the window, she saw Stan venture out into the forest alone with nothing but a baseball bat, some brass knuckles and a flashlight.

She did not know what to do at first, but after a few moments of indecision she ran and woke Fiddleford from his sleep, informing him of what she had seen.

He went pale at her story and ran to the front door. However he was too late. The eccentric was unable to see where Stan was and there was very little chance of finding him in the dark. He considered going out and following Stan anyway, but an eyeball bat swoops down from the trees and he was forced to shut the door again.

“I don’t know what that man thinks he’s doing,” he muttered anxiously, "and people call me a kook!” He noticed that Pacifica was still there and he gave a somewhat strained smiled. “I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”

She wasn't sure she believed him but she pretended to be reassured anyway.

“I suggest ya get some sleep," He calmly told her. She nodded, knowing she would not be able to sleep anytime some but returned back to her makeshift bed anyway.

A few hours later, she heard the front door open and close again.

“And where do ya think yer going?” Fiddleford inquired in a quiet, but angry voice that was laced with relief. He stood near the entrance of the living room, arms crossed and with his back against the wall. 

There are a few seconds of silence before Stan replied gruffly, “None of your beeswax.” The con man huffed as he strode passed McGucket. He was clearly unhappy at being caught, especially by Fiddleford of all people. But McGucket swiftly grabbed Stan by the wrist, stopping him in his tracks. 

“Not good enough. Where were you?” The hillbilly pressed further.

“You forget who’s in charge here?!" Stan retaliated in a hushed whisper, yanking his wrist from Fiddleford's grasp. "If I want to look for my niece and nephew without you tagging along then it’s my business, not yours!”

When the sound of Stan's footsteps faded, Fiddleford heaved a long sigh. Even though the eccentric hillbilly and the gruff businessman didn't always see eye-to-eye, he was silently grateful that Stan returned to the shack safe and sound and retreated back to the couch to get some much-needed rest. 

Pacifica smiled. Stan’s ‘not leaving the shack' policy clearly wasn't as strong as he’d have them all believe. She rolled over and soon drifted off to sleep.   
  
\---------

It was the fourth day of Weirdmageddon and things at the Mystery Shack were relatively stable. Stan, now donned in a red sash with  _CHIEF_   written across it, was still lounging on his "throne". He slept comfortably on the pool chair, with an open issue of _Gold Chains for Old Men_  lying on top of him. Fiddleford was busily completing some research on his specialized laptop, hoping to figure out a way to stop Bill. Despite what Stan had done last night, which neither he nor Fiddleford had brought up, he still insisted they all stay inside and hide. Pacifica, now wearing a dress made from purple rags that she sewed herself, walked up towards McGucket.  
  
"Any luck?” Pacifica asked, looking at the computer beside the old man.  
  
"Not yet darlin'. " McGucket answered, quickly looking at the young girl before turning his attention back to the computer screen. His bony fingers fervently typed on the keyboard to find a solution. When the computer screen flashed red, the old eccentric was visibly annoyed at the machine's lack of cooperation.  
  
"Oh horse spittle!" He shouted, slamming his laptop shut out of frustration. Fiddleford's response scared Stan out of his sleep, jolting upwards from his pool chair.  
  
"What the heck was that for?!" Stan yelled angrily. “I was sleeping, ya jerk!”  
  
"It's near impossible ta get an internet signal in here an' there’s only so much research on Bill saved on here. I also wanna know how the rest of the world's doin' since this began. Maybe I can talk to some researchers aroun' the world an' we can formulate a solution together......"

“Oh that. My advice is give up.” Stan grunted, lying back down on the chair and continuing to read. Pacifica expected Fiddleford to bring up Stan leaving last night. However, Fiddleford silently shook his head. When Fiddleford could not chastise Stan, Pacifica marched towards the con man and opened her mouth to confront him.

"Well then, do you have any other bright ideas _chief?_ " Pacifica asked sarcastically.  
  
"Nah." Stan shrugged, skimming through his magazine. He was about to resume his peaceful _Gold Chains_ session, but was interrupted by the sound of pattering footsteps.  
  
"Fiddleford! Stan!" Jeff the Gnome cried as he rushed into the emergency room.  
  
"What's wrong Jeff?" Fiddleford asked with concern.  
  
The fez headed man pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. "Ugh, what is it this time?"  
  
"Wax Larry King escaped the air vents and is on a violent rampage!"  The gnome leader explained.  
  
"Oh boy," Stan sighed, forcing himself up from his lounge chair. "I'll go find one of my rifles and blow that no-good news reporter to bits."  
  
"Stanley Pines, we are _not_ goin' ta resort ta gun violence as a means of solvin’ our issues." Fiddleford scolded as he dragged the con man by his arm away from the pool chair.  
  
"Ugh fine!" Stan complained, releasing his arm from the hillbilly’s grip. "If you're gonna be anti-second amendment, at least let me use bat violence on this one!" The fez-headed man grabbed a baseball bat from the floor before heading towards the living room.  
  
"Come with me Pacifica, I'm gonna need yer help restrainin’ Stan on the off-chance he goes berserk." Fiddleford addressed to the young girl. Not objecting to his words, Pacifica strolled alongside the bearded man.

When the trio arrived at the scene, they saw a disembodied head of the renown news reporter chasing some of the gnomes and the Lilputtians into a corner.

“So, you’re about to be eaten alive. Tell me about that.” He inquired as if he was interviewing someone for Q and A segment on CNN.  
  
"Hey, you back away from them you wax gremlin!" Stan yelled at the disembodied head. “The only main dish you’ll be eating is a knuckle sandwich!” Not deterred by the con man’s threat, Wax Larry King hopped onto his arm and proceeded to bite on it.

“Aw come on!” Stan yelled, violently shaking the decapitated head off of his limb.

"Here, hold these for me please." Fiddleford addressed a brown-haired gnome, handing him his spectacles. Fiddleford proceeded to get down on all fours and lunged onto the poor con man. Pacifica confusedly watched the brawl go down. Wax Larry King attempted to flee, but the bearded hillbilly captured the head, securing his hold by the reporter’s ears. He lifted himself up from the ground and moved towards the stairwell. Grenda opened the air vent. McGucket shoved the wax head inside and the strong girl closed up the entryway, imprisoning him.

Pacifica helped Stan back on his feet. “You alright?” She questioned out of concern.

“Yeah, my arm’s killin’ me, but otherwise I’m good.” Stan replied.

Fiddleford returned to the blonde girl and the chief, beaming happily at the two. “Uh, thanks for your help you crazy coot.” Stan said quietly. Fiddleford gave the con man a warm smile in return.

Everyone seemed to calm down from the frenzy. Suddenly, the group heard multiple footsteps coming from the front porch. They all started murmuring to themselves, but Stan and Fiddleford stood in the center of the room, facing at the doorway. They mentally prepared for whoever, or whatever, was about to enter the shack. Stan retrieved his bat and held it up high, prepared to strike down the intruder. Fiddleford was down on his arms and legs, like a wolf ready to capture its prey. Pacifica stood in between the two old codgers, clenching her fists with determination. The rest of the group followed suit.

The door slammed open, revealing a hatted boy, a sweater-wearing girl, a redhead, and a handyman, all of whom were wearing their fiercest war faces.

* * *

Pacifica was brought out of her musings when she felt the bus come to a halt. The vehicle stopped at the town center. Getting up from her seat and collecting her belongings, the young girl walked down the aisle and thanked the bus driver before exiting.

Pacifica hopped off the vehicle and onto a small puddle of rain water. She dropped her luggage to take in the familiar surroundings. The town was fairly busy despite the dreary weather, with golden lights illuminating from the business windows, several cars traveling on the main streets and people adorned in raincoats carrying their umbrellas, sheltering themselves from the precipitation.

The young girl was content to see the town she loved again. Picking up her bags, she started walking down the rainy street. As she traversed through the rain, she felt a sense of relief within her. 

_I'm finally home..._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the first chapter wasn't too daunting, but I wanted to set up Pacifica and Fiddleford's previous interactions. 
> 
> *And before anyone says so, I believe that Pacifica had mysophobia (germaphobia), which was why she was so hesitant to hold Fiddleford's hand during the zodiac scene. 
> 
> **Also I'm shocked that there were no fics concerning how Fiddleford gathered all of the survivors and brought them over to the Mystery Shack. It's a shame too because he's such an underrated character who deserves more love.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Pacifica searches for a place out of the rain, her mind drifts back to the aftermath of Weirdmageddon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For warning, there are themes of emotional abuse concerning Pacifica and her parents. 
> 
> A special thanks to Nutters for her assistance and wonderful additions to the story.

As Pacifica strolled down the sidewalk with her luggage, the light rainfall escalated into a full on downpour. With heavy raindrops plummeting from the sky and blinding her peripheral vision, she grew agitated by the miserable weather. The girl dropped her belongings and began to ponder over where she could go to dry off and use a telephone. _There’s always the library, I’m sure they’ll let me use the building’s phone without paying. Even if they don’t, someone will probably let me borrow a cell phone. Besides, the library seems like a decent place to escape the rain._

Picking up her suitcases, she headed over to the old building. Her strides quickened as the downpour continued. In an attempt to forget the physical exhaustion from carrying her load, her mind flashed back to the final moments of Weirdmageddon.....

* * *

_Pacifica struggled to break free from Bill’s spell, but the triangular beast petrified the young girl into a tapestry of her screaming face. She frantically yelled for help, but was unable to utter a single word. She panicked, desperately trying to move her body only to realize that she was frozen in place. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t go anywhere._

_All she could do was look out from the tapestry. It wasn’t a choice though, she couldn’t have close her eyes even if she’d wanted to and she was forced to watch as Dipper and Mabel run away from Bill in his most hideous form. As the children fled from the homicidal monstrosity, Stan and Ford were locked up in a triangular prison. She could have sworn she heard Stan suggest that he would allow the three-sided beast into his mind if it meant saving the world. In any other circumstance, Pacifica would have applauded the businessman’s bravery, but she was far too focused on her horrid situation as she suffered in suspension._

_“Don’t let me stay like this!_ ” _she thought desperately._

_This wasn’t life. It was hell. Unable to move or even scream, she dreaded an eternity of this unbearable plane of existence without even an end to her suffering in death. Pacifica feared that she was going to be confined within the tapestry for all eternity, cursed to live the rest of days frozen in constant agony as nothing more than pieces of thread sewn together._

_But just as she felt that she was about to go mad, she felt herself slip into unconsciousness....._

Pacifica abruptly woke up only to see the Fearamid was crumbling apart. She was too focused on the destruction to realize that she returned to her own body. The blonde lifted herself up from the quaking floor and stood beside the other members of the prophetic zodiac, fearfully watching the eradication of the dream demon’s estate. The Fearamid was deconstructed brick-by-brick before her eyes as the giant rift in the sky pulled the blocks through the portal alongside all of the demonic entities that terrorized the community.

Once the threatening creatures returned to the nightmare realm, the rift dissipated and was transformed into a bright pink light, fiercely illuminating within the dismal sky. The pink light evolved into an enormous wave that erased all of the chaos Bill brought upon the Gravity Falls, wiping the forested town clean of any abhorrent forces. Just as the pink wave dissolved into thin air, the community returned to its familiar state of serenity.  

Pacifica, bewildered by the recent occurrences, carefully inspected the now peaceful town. All of the buildings were standing still, the environment surrounding the town center repossessed its luscious, soft colors. She looked upwards at the clear blue sky above her. The Fearamid was no longer floating there and neither was the ominous purple _X_ the demons emerged from. Everything in Gravity Falls was calm and peaceful as it should be. It was as if Weirdmageddon never happened.

After taking everything in, she looked to her right and saw Fiddleford McGucket standing right next to her. The old inventor was still mesmerized by the town’s restored tranquility. Pacifica was greatly relieved to see that he was physically unharmed. She wanted to celebrate their triumph over the chaotic onslaught, but she felt the pangs of guilt within the pit of her stomach.

_Pacifica recalled to moments earlier, when she was summoned by Ford to partake in the prophetic zodiac that initially would have defeated Bill. She was reluctant to join the weird ritual, as she was spooked out by the sheer coincidence that the llama symbol on the cipher wheel perfectly matched with the llama sweater Mabel gave her the previous night. The ceremony also required all of its participants to hold hands, something Pacifica wasn’t too keen over. She would have been okay if she wore gloves like Ford did, but she left the medical gloves McGucket gave to her back at the Mystery Shack. Pacifica was unable to retrieve her gloves anyway since the shack, which transformed into a giant mech, was engaged in a hand-to-hand combat with the very force they were trying to eradicate. What’s worse was that her mysophobia started to get the better of her when she saw how dirty Fiddleford’s hands were. There were flies hovering over it for crying out loud! But the old codger kindly smiled at the girl as he offered his hand to her to hold._

_Even then she might have been able to do it if she hadn’t been so scared of everything that was happening. “The world was ending and I’m supposed to save it!?” She thought anxiously. It was too much. This couldn’t be real._

_Pacifica felt close tears. Her breath was coming in short gasps and she couldn’t seem to get enough air. It felt like there was a large weight on her chest and she could hear her heart pounding too fast in her ears._

_Pacifica looked around and it seemed to her that everyone was staring at her expectantly. They demanded her to make everything alright again. Then she saw her parents looking at her as well and years of psychological conditioning took over automatically; don’t get dirty, always be presentable, don’t talk to the riff raff, never let the side down, be the daughter we expect..._

_“Ew! I’m not touching that!” She responded, cringing at the unclean hand before her._

Pacifica returned to reality feeling remorseful over her reaction and poor choice of words. _He did so much for me over the past few days and that’s how I speak to him!?_ She thought, being very harsh on herself. _I need to give McGucket a proper apology._

Silently walking towards the hillbilly from behind, she made her move to obtain the man’s attention. “Fiddleford.” She addressed quietly, lightly tapping his shoulder.

Fiddleford turned around to face the young girl and was immediately overjoyed. “Pacifica! Yer alright!” He exclaimed, happy to see her safe and sound. Upon looking at the young blonde and realizing how upset she looked, his demeanor changed into a more worried expression. He knelt down to speak with her with the intention of alleviating the poor girl from her current woes. “Hey, is everythin’ alright darlin’?”

Pacifica shook her head before speaking. “I’m sorry for being grossed out at your hand earlier. I didn’t have any gloves and there were flies swarming near your hand.....but even then I shouldn’t have acted so disgusted.” She averted her gaze, thinking that the inventor would be mad at her. However, she felt a gentle hand lifting her chin up. She looked to face Fiddleford, whose face was filled with concern for the poor girl.

“It’s alright Pacifica, I understand how hesitant you were earlier an’ I accept yer apology.” He said, giving her a soft smile. “Seems like we didn’t even need ta hold hands in the first place since everythin's alright again.” He offered her a friendly grin with his reassurance.

Pacifica was astounded by how kind and forgiving the old eccentric was. Realizing the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes, she wiped them away with her sleeve. With careful hands, Fiddleford pulled the distressed girl into a tender embrace. Pacifica could no longer hold back the tears she desperately fought. She cried on the old man’s shoulder while he comforted her.

“Everythin’ will be okay.” He soothed. “The worst has passed us now.....I reckon that things will turn out alright for us an’ for everyone else in town.”

Her hold around the southerner tightened, as though her life depended on it. “I’m so happy you’re alive Fiddleford.” She confessed, squeezing his frame.

The southerner was stunned by how concerned the young aristocrat was for his well-being. For years he believed that there wasn’t another soul that so much as cared about his very existence. But even during Weirdmageddon, McGucket had made a positive impact on this young girl and she, in return, cared about him. Now understanding the importance of the bond he and Pacifica made over the past few days, the old man felt a renewed sense of self-worth. “Thank you dear.” He tearfully replied, shifting himself to converse with her face to face. “I’m really lucky ta have met someone as caring an’ thoughtful as you Pacifica.”

Pacifica sniffled as the last of her tears had shed. She didn’t know how to respond to such kind words. She tried to figure out what to say to him when she heard a worried voice behind Fiddleford.

“Dad.”

The southerner and the young girl turn around to see his son, Tate McGucket, standing there. He looked a mixture of relieved at finding his father alive and awkward after so many years of estrangement. Fiddleford, for his part, was simply happy to know that his son was unharmed.

“Tate!” He exclaimed excitedly. The hillbilly gently released Pacifica from his hold before running to his estranged son and pulling him into a close hug “I was so worried about ya!”

“I was worried about you too.” Tate admitted. For the first time in years he didn’t push his father away or turn away in embarrassment.

Fiddleford laughed. “I’m an old man. The world don’t much care if I make it or don’t. I ain’t important. As long as you youngins made it, that’s what mattered.” He started to disentangle himself from his son as his relief started to fade, remembering how much Tate had hated being around him all the years after he’d destroyed his own mind.

Tate had other ideas though and his arms wound around his father pulling him back. “I was scared of losing you dad.” He confessed before releasing his father from his hug. The two looked at each other smiling.

Fiddleford was the first one to break the happy silence that had settled between them. “I actually wanted ta see ya back at Bill’s lair, but Ford had ta kick everyone out durin’ the zodiac ritual.”

“It’s alright dad, I’m just glad you’re safe.” Tate replied. “I don’t know what that whole zodiac thing was but it looks like it worked.”

Fiddleford slightly winced at the comment. His son was blissfully unaware of the events that followed, but decided that now was not the best time to delve into the gritty details. “Not really. But I reckon somethin’ or _someone_ else stumped Bill, that’s fer sure.”

Tate was going to ask him what he meant but stopped himself. He could find out later. There were more important things to say. “Listen, Dad, I...” He coughed and looked away before forcing himself to look back. He _was_ going to do this! He had to!

Tate tipped his hat upwards, revealing his deep blue eyes, so he could get a better look of his father. “I want to apologize for being such a lousy son. I shouldn’t have shut you out the way I did. You needed me and I didn’t want to know. I cared too much about what everyone else thought when you were yelling things. I should have listened and not just because it turned out you were right.”

Fiddleford waved his apology away. “Now you listen here young man! You ain’t got nothing to be sorry for!” His face dropped as he thought about some of the things he’d done while he wasn’t in his right mind. He hadn’t been any sort of father. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I wasn’t a good father to ya, Tate. ‘fact, it’s only since I started getting my memories back, I realized just how lousy a parent I was.”

Tate opened his mouth to disagree but Fiddleford knew any reassuring words his son could offer would be lies so he continued. “I ain’t been a good dad since you were knee high to a grasshopper and I’m sure any memories you still have of me from then are tainted by what I became. There ain’t anyone to blame for that but me. I was a coward who chose ta run from his problems rather than face ‘em head on. I became an addict and I put my addiction before you ‘til I lost my sanity. It wasn’t fair on you nor your ma to watch me go downhill like that. If I’d been any sort of father, you’d’a come first. T’was only after I’d lost it all that I tried to get back in yer life an’ I wasn’t someone anyone would want around by then. I know I don’t deserve forgiveness fer what I did or how I hurt ya, but if ya let me, I solemnly promise I’ll do right by ya from now on.”

“Oh dad...” Tate said, his voice cracking. “I’m just glad I got you back.” He gave a quick kiss on his father’s forehead before wrapping him in another heartfelt embrace. Fiddleford was shocked at his son's immediate forgiveness, but after moments of self-reflection he acknowledged how sincere Tate was during their reunion. The inventor accepted the hug, contentedly closing his eyes as he wrapped his arms around his son.

“I guess we both screwed up then, huh?” The younger McGucket mentioned, holding his father tight. “Dad.....w-would it be alright with you if we got a fresh new start? I promise I won’t push you away.”

The old eccentric was amazed at his son’s offer of a second chance. Fiddleford wanted nothing more than to be a supportive and loving father to his son and now was the opportunity to express that wish.

“So long as it’s alright wit you, my lil’ Tater-Tot.” He accepted, gently rubbing smooth circles on his son’s back in an effort to console him.

Pacifica felt a slight pang of jealousy as she looked at how happy Fiddleford and Tate were together. She was glad for them but at the same time it hurt seeing the sort of relationship she would never have with her own parents. She had felt the same way when she first saw how close Dipper and Mabel were. Even when she was at the Mystery Shack during Weirdmageddon, she wished that her parents were as dedicated and loving as Stan Pines was towards his niece and nephew.

At that moment, Pacifica noticed a large number of townsfolk, including the zodiac participants, approaching her and McGucket.

“Hey Mr. McG!” Wendy Corduroy hollered joyously. The redhead and her family were the first to reach him, followed by Soos Ramirez and his Abuelita. “I wanted to tell you how awesome the Shack-Tron turned out!”

“Well thank ya darlin’.” Fiddleford replied sheepishly, not used to receiving such praise or any praise for that matter. He was more used to anger and aggression as a response to anything he made.

“The Shack-Tron?” Tate questioned aloud.

“It was all apart of Fiddleford’s plan for the rescue mission.” Pacifica explained to the confused man. “During Weirdmageddon, he led a group of injured survivors, including myself, to the Mystery Shack. And when we learned what Bill was doing to the other townsfolk, Fiddleford got all of the survivors to cooperate and build a giant robot that weakened Bill and brought us over to his castle to save Ford and everyone else!”

“Dad, you actually helped other people and led a full-on retaliation against that demented triangle?” Tate asked, astounded at the number of deeds his father had accomplished during the past few days.

“Well it wasn’t all of my doin’,” Fiddleford answered his son’s inquiry. “I couldn’t have done it without everyone’s help back at the Mystery Shack, especially Soos’s expansive knowledge on anime as a reference for the robot.”

“Aw dude, it was nothing, but [do itashimashite](http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/japanese.php).” Soos said blushing. “It was my duty to introduce you to it and I always knew my extensive knowledge of mecha and magical girl anime would come in handy some day.”

“But I want to thank you for your major contribution towards saving the town.” Wendy told Fiddleford sincerely. “Without your leadership and knowledge in robotics, Bill would still be around and we’d probably be fighting over cans of brown meat back at the Mystery Shack.”

“Yeah, you managed to get everyone at the shack to work together, kicked some demon butt, and freed the other citizens from Bill’s clutches. So you’re, like, the MVP of the apocalypse dude!” Soos added enthusiastically.

“McGucket!” An amiable baritone voice called to him. The hillbilly noticed both Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland, with their hands interlaced, approaching him.

“I want to personally thank you for leading the rescue mission. Because of your ingenious plan, everyone who was turned to stone was liberated and I was reunited with my beloved Durland.” The Sheriff gave a swift peck on Durland’s cheek.

“You’re a real hero and you have our sincerest thanks!” The deputy added joyously.  

“Everyone give it up for McGucket!!!” Soos declared, raising the bewildered inventor’s bandaged arm up in the air as Wendy gestured her hands towards the old eccentric. The other townspeople immediately burst into thunderous applause, expressing their gratitude for Fiddleford’s bravery and initiative during Weirdmageddon.

“I...I don’t know how ta respond ta this.” McGucket stammered. He was in disbelief that the citizens of Gravity Falls were actually cheering for him. He was so used to people ridiculing or jeering at him that all of the praise he was receiving seemed so unreal. Fiddleford knew that a few weeks ago he would have given anything for this kind of attention but now it felt almost overwhelming. Too many years of being chased and jeered at by angry mobs meant he didn’t know what to do when he was surrounded by people who weren’t laughing, angry or ignoring him. He blushed and pulled his beard up to hide his face.

Seeing his discomfort and stepping closer, Pacifica came to McGucket’s rescue as she placed an encouraging hand on his shoulder. “You’ve done so much for everyone in this town Fiddleford.” Pacifica told him gently, causing the maverick mechanic to carefully lower his unusual shield. “And because of your guidance and assistance, you deserve to be treated with the utmost respect and to be seen as the brilliant man that you are.”

Fiddleford found himself beaming at her words. The southerner gave a short cry as Blubs and Durland lifted him on top of their shoulders. He wobbled momentarily before he felt two hands supporting his back.

“Don’t worry dad, I’ll make sure you don’t fall over.” Tate laughed from behind as he held his father up.

Fiddleford smiled at his son’s sincere support, but he still felt uneasy being held up so high. The nervous man fervently glanced downwards for any sign of alleviation. Fortunately, he spotted Pacifica, who gave him a lighthearted smile and a thumbs up. Feeling relieved by the blonde’s encouragement, Fiddleford allowed himself to accept the cheerful praise the townspeople showered him with.

Pacifica watched with content as McGucket was being paraded around the town center, finally being hailed as a hero among them. However, she was brought out of the pleasant sight when she heard her parents call out to her.

“Pacifica!”

Pacifica flinched. She knew those voices and turned to face her parents once more. Much to her surprise, her mother pulled her into a hug. Her father stood to the side but didn’t chastise his wife for this public show of affection.

“Well done on defeating the demon. I’m sure I can convince the city council to erect a statue of you in honor of you saving the town. If I push we might even get a town holiday dedicated to you.” Preston told his daughter in a formal voice. It was the closest thing to praise he’d ever got and Pacifica didn’t want to correct him. She knew he’d find out soon but she’d let him think the circle had worked for now.

“We were so worried about you.” Priscilla added still holding Pacifica close. It was the first time she’d been hugged her my her mother, not counting their reaction to Bill rearranging Preston’s facial orifices.

“Hey, it’s alright. I’m fine and the town is back to normal... _is_ _h_.” Pacifica said, blushing with happiness upon receiving grand adoration from her parents.

“Now now, let’s all go back to the manor and hopefully try to repress all of the awful occurrences from the past week.” Preston told his family.

Her mother and father took her hand in hand as they walked away from the town center. The young girl also saw Soos sprinting into the threshold of the woods. _Maybe he’s checking up on the Pines family._ she thought, silently hoping that the close-knit family were alright.

As Pacifica was being led by her parents towards the family limousine, she deeply pondered to herself. _What if they experienced a change of heart during Weirdmageddon? Maybe they could become better, more supportive parents._ Pacifica felt a tiny spark of hope that they would change into decent human beings.

She knew her mother hadn’t always been rich. Before marrying Preston, Priscilla had been a simple mud farmer. Pacifica wondered what her mother had been like before becoming a lady of leisure. She’d never known her grandparents on her mother’s side. Neither of her parents ever spoke of them.

Maybe, since her father had been able to fall in love with a mud farmer’s daughter and her mother came from what her father called ‘the common stock’ they could both learn to be a little kinder to others.

* * *

In retrospect, Pacifica felt _too_ optimistic about her parents turning a new leaf.

Both Preston and Priscilla Northwest were still the same greedy dirtbags she’d always known. Her father actually mourned over the loss of his stocks and shares. While Pacifica had only just started to learn about the value of things, she knew far more about how money worked than was probably healthy for someone her age and she knew that they weren’t by any stretch of the imagination poor.

Earlier that summer she’d been taken to see _The Dark Knight Rises_ because it was one of the many summer blockbusters that year and the most hyped film. Pacifica had laughed at the ridiculousness of the movie, not at how someone could dress up as a bat and fight themed supervillains but at how the movie treated money. Bruce Wayne had lost all his stocks and shares in a terrorist attack and then was apparently completely broke. He went from a millionaire to having the bank sell off Wayne manor a few days later to cover his debts. Real life didn’t work like that.

Even though her father filed for bankruptcy for his three major businesses (Northwest Realty, Northwest Mudflap Factory, and Northwest Weather Vanes), he and her mother parents didn’t have any other debts. They still had savings in banks all over the world (she was almost certain they had Nazi war gold in a safe in Sweden), they had trust funds, held a Swiss bank account, they owned a lot of antique furniture and expensive art that could be turned into liquid assets at almost a moment's notice. Despite her father investing all their stocks and shares in Bill’s invasion - Pacifica wasn’t even sure how that worked, you couldn’t just say “I invest all my money in this!” and have it happen - [her parents weren’t poor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxfht74r2RM).

None of these facts meant anything to her parents though because, to them, they were no longer rich enough. The manor was put up for sale in an attempt to increase the family fortune. On the bright side, someone did purchase the manor within two days’ time. Unfortunately for Preston and Priscilla, Fiddleford McGucket, the former town kook, bought their home after receiving millions of dollars from selling his patents to the United States government.

Pacifica was personally livid with her parents, as they still referred to McGucket as ‘that dirty hillbilly’, ‘low-class scoundrel’ or ‘crazy old hick’. She tried to confront her parents on their poor choice of words to describe Fiddleford. Pacifica had pointed out that Fiddleford had done far more than her to save the town from Bill and his minions. In response to her valid explanation, Preston simply used the bell. Even though Pacifica overcame the bell’s power, she gritted her teeth in frustration. He then informed her that it didn’t matter because nobody would want to see a statue of ‘that crazy old fool’ and had been telling anyone who’d listen that his beautiful precious daughter had single-handedly saved Gravity Falls from destruction despite everyone knowing it was a lie. Pacifica then realised that he’d only cared about her ‘saving the town’ because it made the Northwest’s look good.

She pushed those horrid thoughts in the back of her mind. Now she was at Dipper and Mabel’s 13th birthday party and all she wanted was to have a good time.

It was a few minutes after Stan Pines announced his retirement and crowned Soos as ‘Mr. Mystery’ that she grabbed a can of Pitt Cola from the refreshments table. After taking a sip of the soda, she ventured out into the crowd of other party-goers in the hopes of finding some familiar faces she could potentially make small-talk with.

Within a minute Pacifica found Fiddleford conversing with Soos. The southerner seemed to enjoy himself with the now fez-headed man. The young girl was unsure if she should make her presence known since she did not want to interrupt whatever conversation the two were having. However, blue eyes behind green spectacles brightly lit up when they detected the young blonde girl.

“Howdy Pacifica!” Fiddleford hollered eagerly, gesturing with his right hand for her to join in. Soos also happily motioned for the girl to come over.

“Hey Fiddleford, Soos.” She greeted. “Oh Soos, congratulations on your promotion to manager of the Mystery Shack.”

“Aww, thanks dude!”

Pacifica nodded at the new Mr. Mystery. “And how are things with you two?”

“Things are goin’ wonderful!” Fiddleford replied happily. “Soos an’ I were just havin’ a delightful discussion about his anime collection!”

“Really?” Pacifica questioned, her curiosity piqued at the unusual topic.

“Oh yeah, I’ve been filling this guy in on all of my favorite anime titles!” Soos answered contentedly. The portly man slightly turned his head towards Fiddleford. “So dude, if you ever wanna come over my place and marathon _Neon Crisis Mechabot Boy: Revelations_ , just say the word!”

“Will do!” Fiddleford cheerfully responded. “Although, do ya still need me to take notes on the show?”

“Nah, all I need is 900 hours of your time though.” Soos answered casually.

“Well I have all the time in the world, so just let me know! Oh, an’ my door will also be open if ya wanna watch some anime in my new shed!”

“Sweet!” Soos cheered. He then realized that he had other vital news he wanted to share with the bearded eccentric. “Oh Fiddleford, I wanted to ask you something important. Since, I’m like, the new head of the Mystery Shack and all, I just realized that I can’t complete my usual maintenance work cause I’ll be super busy with doing group tours and other manager stuff. I’m also planning on hiring my girlfriend Melody to help run the gift shop alongside Wendy. And since you’re like, incredibly knowledgeable in mechanics and engineering, I was wondering if you would be interested in becoming the new handyman for the shack? I understand if you’re too busy with your inventions and patents.”

Fiddleford was stunned at Soos’s business offer. It had been over thirty years since he was employed for his expertise in mechanical engineering (not counting Gideon and constructing his giant robot of doom), and he remembered how terribly that turned out. However, the Mystery Shack seemed much more promising in comparison since it was a family-friendly tourist destination as opposed to a dangerous transuniversal polydimensional meta-vortex or any destructive robot.

“I’d love to Soos!” Fiddleford answered. “I was actually plannin’ on donatin’ a good portion of the money I made over ta the Mystery Shack anyways, but it would be an honor workin’ fer ya!”

“Thank you so much dude!” Soos spoke with sincere gratitude.

“Yer welcome!”

Pacifica lightly tapped Fiddleford’s arm to get his attention. The old man looked over to see the young girl. “And Fiddleford,” Pacifica spoke up, “I wanted to congratulate you on buying the manor. I’m really happy that you were able to find a stable home to live in.”

“Aww, well thank you darlin’.” Fiddleford sweetly replied while gently ruffling her hair. Pacifica tried to roll her eyes, but was ultimately unable to fight the smile that appeared on her face.

Soos smiled at the tender moment, but was interrupted by his cell phone vibrating in his left pocket. His eyes widened with excitement when he looked at the caller ID. “Melody!” He quickly turned towards the his two friends “I’m sorry guys, my girlfriend’s calling and I gotta take this, but I’ll see you dudes around!” As he turned around, he answered the call. “Hey Melody! Listen, I have a really sweet business proposal I know you’re gonna love dude, but it’s gonna take a while to explain why I can give you this offer. Clear the rest of you day, this is gonna be a long story.....”

After Soos made his exit, Pacifica decided to keep the conversation with McGucket going. “So Fiddleford, what have you been up to lately?” The young girl asked with interest.

“A lot has happened over the past few days actually.” He answered. “I’ve been livin’ with Tate at his house, where we’ve been catchin’ up on things an' as of now our relationship is on the mend! But beforehand, Ford visited me as I was gatherin' my things at the junkyard, but I was too overjoyed with his presence and we ended up chattin' fer hours! It was quite the reunion ta say the least. Ford noted the pile of scrap paper, which were really nothin' more than doodles of my invention ideas. However he was impressed by 'em an' suggested that I should submit my scribbles over ta the U.S. government. He said that it would improve my financial sit-e-ation. So I decided ta take his word on it. I also told my son about sellin' my doodles an' he was really encouragin’ about it as well. An' despite my initial doubts, I sold my blueprints to the U.S. government an’ I actually made some money off of ‘em!”

“Understatement of the century.” Pacifica remarked smiling.

“I was also busy helpin’ the Pines family the past couple days. Dipper an’ Ford informed me about Stan’s memory loss an’ I’ve been assistin’ him with dealin’ wit the side effects of havin’ been exposed to the memory gun. Stan already had some of his memory back thanks ta Mabel an’ her scrapbook, but he still needed some help wit recollectin’ other things pertainin’ to his life. As of now he regained most of his memory back, even to his life before arrivin’ in Gravity Falls. I’m really happy that Stan was able ta make so much progress over a short amount ‘a time. It’s not surprising really, he lost all his memories in one go rather than slowly over time so he didn’t alienate people while it happened an’ he got help rememberin’ straight away.”

“That’s good to hear.” Pacifica said with sincerity. The girl glanced back at Fiddleford only to see the man looking very apprehensive, nervously wringing his beard and biting his lip.

“Is there something wrong?” She asked with concern.  

Fiddleford released a long sigh before speaking. “Pacifica, even though I just bought myself the new shed ta reside in, I wanna apologize fer takin’ yer home away from you an’ yer parents, an-”

“And by ‘taking’ you mean ‘rightfully purchased with your own, hard-earned money’, than it’s alright.” She reassured him. “I’m not too upset over it, unlike my _parents_. Sure I’m going to miss having two of my horses around, but I’ll find some way to cope with the loss.”

“But.....I can’t help but feel bad fer what I’ve done ta ya...”

“Don’t be.” Pacifica sternly stated. “My parents sold the place even though they technically didn’t need to. Honestly, they probably deserved to lose a lot more as punishment for being greedy anyways. I mean, my dad put a majority of his wealth in _‘weirdness bonds’_ , and for what, a chance to become a horseman of the _apocalypse?_  I mean, who in their right mind would do that?!” Pacifica paused her exaggerated gesticulations upon noticing how overly animated she became during her explanation. Pulling her hands together, the girl inhaled through her nose and sighed before talking in a calmer tone. “What I’m trying to say is that I don’t want any pity from anyone, especially from you. I’ll try to find a way to deal with my current situation, so don’t worry too much about me, okay? I’m just really happy for you, now that you have a reliable income and stable roof over your head.”

Fiddleford was surprised and relieved to hear Pacifica’s counter-argument. It couldn’t have been an easy transition for her, she’d been used to living in the lap of luxury all her life. Maybe it was her family’s stubbornness that made her refuse to buckle under adversity. Despite any personal feelings she might feel about her wealthy lifestyle, he could tell that she really was happy for him. However the old eccentric wanted to reassure her that he would be there for her if things got tough.

“Pacifica darlin’, I just wanna let you know that if you need any help at all, my doors will always be open fer ya if you ever wanna drop by.” Fiddleford warmly told her.

Touched by the sincerity of the inventor’s words, Pacifica gave Fiddleford a well-meaning hug.  

“Thank you.” She whispered.

“Yer welcome dear.”

Pacifica slowly released herself from the embrace and was about to open her mouth to begin some small talk when she heard a friendly voice from behind. “Hey you two!” Pacifica and Fiddleford turned around and discovered Wendy smiling at them. “You guys enjoying the party?”

“We sure are!” Fiddleford joyfully answered. Pacifica nodded in agreement towards the redhead.

“Cool! So listen,” Wendy showcased her clipboard that held a folded piece of paper. The teen also presented them with a handful of thin colored markers. “Since Mabel is having people signing her scrapbook, I figured that Dipper should have a little memento of Gravity Falls to take with him as well. So I was wondering if you both could write your signatures on here?”

“Of course!” Pacifica replied, taking a pink marker from the lot.

“I’d love to!” Fiddleford added, picking out a light green marker.

The two of them took turns signing their names on the letter. Once they were finished, Wendy quickly shoved her clipboard into her backpack. “Thank you guys.” Fortunately for the redhead, she cleared away her surprise in time as Dipper and Mabel approached the three.

“Hello!” Mabel cheerfully greeted the group, pulling Pacifica into a friendly side hug.

“So what's everyone up to?” Dipper happily asked the group.

“Not a whole lot, just chit-chatting and stuff.” Wendy answered with a half-lie. “I have to check up on something inside the shack, but I’ll find you guys in a bit!”

“Okay!” Dipper and Mabel nodded before turning their heads towards Fiddleford.

“Mr. McGucket, thanks again for assisting Grunkle Stan with the his memory-loss side effects.” Dipper said with genuine gratitude.

“It really means a lot to us that you’re able to help him out.” Mabel added, her arm still wrapped around Pacifica.

“Aww shucks, I’m glad ta be there fer Stanley.” Fiddleford said humbly. “You kids helped me out over the summer, an’ you know that I’m always more than happy ta support the Pines family!”

"And thank you for the awesome b-day gift Pacifica!” Mabel beamed at the blonde. 

“Thanks Pacifica!” Dipper added, showcasing the _Ghost Harassers_ DVD she gave him before stowing it away inside his vest pocket.

“You're both welcome. So, uh Mabel,” Pacifica spoke as she was released from the side hug. “would you want your llama sweater back soon?”

“Nah,” Mabel replied, gesturing with her right hand. “You can keep it! I already have a bagillion other sweaters. Plus, that sweater suits you. Someone once told me that llamas are nature’s fiercest warriors.”

“Who told you that?” She inquired.

“I’m not entirely sure actually.....but the sweater does match with your outgoing personality!”

“Alright then, I guess I’ll keep it.” Pacifica affirmed. “Lord knows I’m gonna need it during the winter time.”

“So what’s Gravity Falls like during the winter season anyways?” Dipper asked with sincere intrigue.

“Frigid and miserable.” Pacifica answered flatly. “It’s boring too since hardly any tourists come.”

“The weather gets mighty chilly durin’ the winter,” Fiddleford added, briefly remembering the many cold winters spent shivering inside his fragile makeshift shack in the town dump. “Not ta mention all of the large amounts of snow we get.”

“Wait a minute, where are you from anyways?” Pacifica asked.

“California.” Dipper answered.

“We live about thirty minutes away from San Francisco.” Mabel added.

“Ugh, lucky! You two should consider yourselves very fortunate for not having to deal with the horrible winter weather here in Gravity Falls.”

“I’ll remember that the next time I complain about the weather in my hometown.” Dipper noted. “Though I’m still going to try and convince mom and dad to let us spend winter vacation here. Snow ball fights and a Christmas card setting sound like a nice excuse to come back.”

Just as Pacifica was about to continue the conversation, Candy and Grenda approached the small group.

“Mabel!” Candy greeted.

The sweatered girl joyfully turned to her best friends. “Hey girls! So what’s up?”

“We’re setting up the piñata and we need your help.” Grenda answered.

“Awesome! I’ll be there in a minute.” Mabel responded.

The recently-declared teenager grabbed her pink book and approached both Pacifica and Fiddleford.“Oh, before I go, would you guys sign my summer scrapbook? And maybe put in your phone numbers or email addresses? I was hoping that maybe Dipper and I can still keep in touch with everyone in Gravity Falls after the summer’s over.”

“Yeah,” Pacifica and Fiddleford said as they write their signatures and contact information on the open page.

“Thank you guys so much!” Mabel said gratefully.

“Sure thing Mabel.” Pacifica replied. The blonde was really fortunate to have been encountered and befriended by Mabel over the summer. Even though the two girls each had their less-than-idealistic first impressions towards one another, they both proved to be quite the team when it came to fighting against sinister supernatural creatures.

As Mabel joined Candy and Grenda in setting up the piñata, Dipper turned his attention toward the young blonde. “Hey Pacifica, I learned about what happened with you and your folks, and I wanted to say-”

Pacifica put her hand up near Dipper’s face, halting the boy. “Don’t even say it. I know you feel bad, but you would be putting a damper on our friendship if you started pitying me.”

“Oh, so we _are_ friends you say?” Dipper smirked slyly.

“Don’t make this any weirder than it already is.” She mentioned, hoping that the redness in her cheeks weren’t easily noticeable. “I can go off people you know.”

“I’m just messing with you.” Dipper replied. “But seriously, are you doing okay?”

Pacifica was surprised by the boy’s concern for her well-being. “Yeah. I’ll get through this predicament somehow.” She told him. “But I have to admit, I’m going to miss seeing you around.”

“Same here.” Dipper agreed. “Despite the bad first few meetings, I’m glad I got to learn how much of a good person you are Pacifica.”

“Well don’t tell anyone! I don’t think my parents would ever forgive me if they found out!” She half joked.

Pacifica briefly reminisced over the night Dipper and her encountered the lumberjack ghost over at Northwest Manor. Even though the two initially despised each other, they learned to work as a team to capture the ghost in the magic mirror. She really liked having Dipper around. She’d never really had a friend before and hadn’t been sure if that’s what they were at the time but it was the closest she’d come to one. She’d wanted to tell him the truth surrounding the ghost but she also did not want him to think less of her, so she listened to her father’s instructions and stayed quiet.

Later on that evening as the ghost wreaked havoc on the party, Pacifica hid herself in her parent’s secret room, surrounding herself by the dreadful images of all of the Northwests before her. She knew her ancestors weren’t even ashamed of what they’d done. They had kept the documents and even commissioned expensive portraits commemorating their underhanded deeds. They were proud of what they’d done to stay at the top with everyone else beneath them. They hide what they’d done, not out of shame but to keep up a respectable face in public.

Looking around the room Pacifica found the file Dipper had given her, tangible proof that her ancestor, Nathaniel Northwest, did not found Gravity Falls. Her father had simply put them there as another reminder of what their family would do for power and she was just a mere link in the long line of the worst family ever. However, Dipper managed to find her, apologized for his actions and reassured her that she was able to rise above the expectations firmly planted by her parents. His words of encouragement motivated her to defy her parents’ and the abhorrent bell, and break the family curse once and for all. By the end of that night, Pacifica and Dipper became good friends and she learned to become more open-minded.

“So, I’m not the worst?” She asked jokingly, raising an eyebrow.

“Well now that you mention it, I’d say you’re maybe.....the third to worst. You were number four but since Bill’s dead, you got bumped up!” He replied with a snarky grin.

“You jerk!” She giggled, playfully jabbing the boy’s arm. Dipper gave a hearty chuckle at Pacifica’s reaction to his wisecrack.

“Dipper!” Mabel exclaimed, running towards the boy along with Candy and Grenda. “Candy found this hilarious cat video on her phone and you have to see it!”

“You’re not Rick-Rolling me again are you?” He inquired in an exasperated tone.

“Nope! It’s a cute cartoon about colorful cats in a[ marching band](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAIGb1lfpBw)!” Mabel responded.

"I figure you’d appreciate it since features both cats and musical instruments.” Candy suggested.  

“And it’s super adorable!” Grenda added.

“Okay, okay.” Dipper said, allowing himself to be taken away by his sister and her friends. He waved at Pacifica before resigning himself to his fluffy fate.

“And look at ‘em go!” Stan joked, seeing his niece and nephew run off to who knows where. Stan was happily walking alongside his brother Ford when they approached Pacifica and Fiddleford. The blonde noticed the con man carrying a small bag in his right hand.

“Ford!” Fiddleford exclaimed, giving the researcher an affectionate hug. “How are ya doin’ old friend?”

“I’m doing very well actually.” The researcher responded, giving his twin a knowing smile. “And you?”

“Why I’m about as happy as a bumble bee in spring!” Fiddleford said in his usual upbeat voice.

Stan turned his head towards Pacifica. “How are things goin’ blondie?”

“I’m doing alright.” She answered. “I do have a name you know, and it’s Pacifica.”

“Really?” He with a confused expression on his face.“I’m not sure if I remember you telling me that...” The young blonde guiltily glanced downwards, aware of Stan’s recent memory loss. It was only moments later when she heard him laugh.

“I’m just kiddin’,” Stan reminded her. “I know your name Pacifica, I just wanted to mess around. No harm done, right?”

“Sure.” She sighed, giving the old con man a wry smile.

Fiddleford was released from Ford’s hug before he spoke to the businessman. “An’ Stanley, are ya doin’ alright?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty well considering how much help you and Ford gave to me.” Stan said gruffly, while nervously scratching the back of his neck. “Listen, I wanted to apologize for giving you two such a hard time a few days ago...”

“It’s alright Stanley,” Fiddleford reassured. “You were in a bad place an’ I understand how upset you were then.”

“But that’s no excuse for how I treated you though. I made a lot of mistakes in my life before I lost my memory and I think it’s about time I start making up for them.” Stan argued. He placed the bag down as he continued to speak. “I want to properly thank you for everything you did, with helping me out during Weirdmageddon as well as your assistance with the memory retrieval, so I want you to have this.” He grabbed the red  _CHIEF_ sash, showcasing the tattered attire before the inventor.

“Stanley...” Fiddleford whispered in awe.

“I found it around the shack the other day, thinkin’ it must have been yours. But when I showed it to the kids they told me otherwise. Soon afterwards I received more flashbacks to the first few days of Weirdmageddon. I remembered how you led those stragglers to the shack, successfully retrieved a surplus of food from the bunker to everyone, led Ford’s rescue mission, and brought everyone together into building that giant robot from the shack. So thank you for all the help Fiddleford.”

Stan gently placed the sash around the southerner’s small frame, giving him a soft smile. “I figured the sash would look much better on you.”

“So Fiddleford, you actually accomplished all of those things?” Ford inquired with a surprised smile, astonished that his friend could pull off so many feats in such a short time frame, and during Weirdmageddon no less.

“He sure did.” Stan answered for the inventor with confidence. “Without his help, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

Moved by the con man’s kind gesture, Fiddleford pulled Stan into a great hug.   

“Take it easy there,” Stan muttered, bewildered by the southerner’s affectionate display of gratitude. He reluctantly patted Fiddleford on the back, trying to deal with the awkwardness of someone who wasn't family hugging him. Ford chuckled at the sweet moment, happy that both his twin brother and his best friend were on good terms with each other.

Pacifica also smiled. It was nice to see everyone getting along for once. She finally felt like she belonged somewhere and all it took was the end of the world and her parents losing some of their money.

Unfortunately, her happiness was short lived. Pacifica felt her phone buzz in her pocket with a text that would pop her happy bubble.

 _We’re almost at the Mystery Shack to pick you up from the commoner gathering._ _We have something important to tell you in the limo._

Pacifica soured at the curt message from her father. Sighing to herself, she approached Fiddleford to wish him goodbye. “Hey Fiddleford.” She addressed to the southerner.

He immediately took note of her sudden drop in mood. “Are you alright dear?”

“Yeah, I have to get going since my parents are picking me up shortly.” She sighed knowing she was probably going to get a lecture about going to Dipper and Mabel’s birthday party and feeling apprehensive about whatever it was they wanted to tell her. “But I’ll definitely see you soon.”

Fiddleford nodded and patted her on her shoulder reassuringly. “Of course, and if ya need to talk, you know where ta find me!”

“I will.” She nodded, giving him a small smile. The car horn from the stretch limousine alerted the girl of her parents’ arrival. Since she was already in trouble, Pacifica decided they could wait a little longer and ran off to say goodbye to Dipper and Mabel.

A few minutes later she was sat in the back of her family’s car receiving a lecture.

“Young lady, I will not tolerate this sort of rude behavior!” He told her angrily. “When you are called, you _will_ come.”

“Isn’t it polite to let the hosts of a party known when you are leaving?” Pacifica asked. The anger that flashed across her father’s face at her disagreeing with him gave her a small vindictive pleasure.

“Not when the hosts are below your social level.” Preston scolded.

“You mean when they're not as rich as us?” Pacifica retaliated.

“Don’t talk back.” He said pulling out the hated bell and ringing it. Pacifica resisted a mad urge to stanch it from his hands and throw it out the window. She knew it wouldn’t be worth it. Though she’d started to disobey the bell at times, she still remembered the punishments that were associated with disobedience from when she’d been younger. She repressed a shudder.

“Your association with the lower classes has tainted you.” Her father stated. Pacifica grit her teeth. “However, luckily this won’t be a problem much longer. Soon you’ll be away from these awful people. We’re moving away from this wretched town.”

**“What!?”**

“A Northwest doesn't shout.” He said ringing the bell. “Also to iron out these troublesome kinks in your personality, we’ve hired you a personal tutor so you won’t be going to school in our new home.”

“You can’t do that!” Pacifica angrily argued.

“This will be good for us, a fresh start.” Her mother said speaking up for the first time. “Your tutor comes with the highest recommendations.”

“Yes, Miss Trunchbull spent over a year teaching at St. Olga's Reform School for Wayward Princesses**.” Her father told her said with an unpleasant smile on his face.

Pacifica felt like crying. “But why are we moving?”

“We have nothing left in this town and we need to make a new start elsewhere.” Preston answered in a solemn tone.

“I was able to get in contact with my cousin over in Portland and we’ll be temporarily residing with her until we are able to find a home for ourselves.” Priscilla explained.

“We already have a moving truck all set and we’ll be escape from this hick town within an hours’ time.” Her father added.

“Can I at least say goodbye to everyone?”

“Oh no. There’s no time for that.”

* * *

 Pacifica snapped out of her reminiscence when her eyes widened upon finding the Gravity Falls Public Library. She decided that it was a decent place to dry off and formulate a plan on how she could get in contact with Fiddleford. She couldn’t walk all they way up to the manor in this weather and she didn’t have enough money left to take a cab.

As she walked up to the entrance, she looked through the window to find a familiar face. It looked like she wouldn’t have to reach the manor to find Fiddleford after all.

The old inventor was casually conversing with the reference librarian at the front desk. The latter seemed to be really pleased with Fiddleford’s presence as she smiled as he spoke, even chuckling along with him.

She peered closely into the window to get a better view of the old man. Fiddleford looked much healthier than when she’d last seen him. His long beard was now short and fluffed out around his face with no band-aid in sight. He still wore the green-lens glasses but the lenses had been properly fixed rather than just the patch job he’d done during the Weirdmageddon. He was clean and in a better set of clothes than the ones he’d been wearing for the past three decades; wearing a yellow raincoat rolled up to his elbows, a blue floral shirt, brown pants and shoes. Despite the major changes in attire, he still sported the large brown hat which was mended to look good as new.

He wasn’t completely better though. Pacifica noticed that his right arm still look thin and weak where the, now removed, cast had covered it for so long, his back was still hunched and despite gaining weight he still looked painfully thin.

Nervously, she walked inside, unsure of the reception she’d reserve. The librarian stopped her first and smiled. “Oh Pacifica, I thought your family had moved. Come to get a library card?”

Fiddleford spun around and smiled at her. “Pacifica! Well ain’t you a sight for sore eyes.”

Pacifica felt immensely relieved that he was happy to see her but she was still nervous. Sensing the girl’s apprehension, Fiddleford asked. “Is there somethin’ wrong, sugar cube?”

“I’m sorry for not getting in contact with you sooner!” Pacifica blurted. “After I left the party, my parents informed me that we had to move to Portland to live with my aunt. They said that we had nothing left in Gravity Falls, but that wasn’t true! They wouldn’t even let me say goodbye. I could have found a way to call or write to you since then but I didn’t, and now I’m here and I need help and...” She was starting to speak faster and hyperventilate.

Fiddleford was by her side almost immediately. He bent down to her level and in a reassuring voice said. “Take a deep breath, there.” She did as he instructed, inhaling and exhaling slowly while he calmly assisted her. “In through yer nose an' out through yer mouth. Slow an' steady, that’s the way. Just keep breathin'; in....an' out...in....an' out.....” He kept going until Pacifica seemed calmer. “That's better now. You need me ta get you anything?”

“No, I’m okay.” Pacifica said, feeling anything but. She was scared, embarrassed and distressed all at the same time. The mixture of those raw emotions overwhelmed the poor girl and her facial expression definitely reflected those feelings.

Fiddleford comprehended how distressed the young girl was feeling, “Now I don’t know what this is all about but we’re going to sort it all out, alright?” She nodded wordlessly. “You’re all wet.” He noticed, looking at her soaked bandanna and trench coat. “First things first, we’ll get you dry and then you can tell me everything. I’ll get Tate to give us a ride to my shack." 

Fiddleford pulled out his phone and started dialing but he didn’t leave her side. Pacifica sighed in relief. Fiddleford wasn’t angry at her and he still cared. She thought about the legal documents safely stowed away in her bag that might just free her from her parent’s grasp forever and smiled knowing Fiddleford would help her.

“...thanks again Tater-Tot! We’ll be outside momentarily!” Fiddleford cheerfully said into his cell phone before hanging up. He turned his attention towards Pacifica. “Tate just finished up some grocery shoppin’ an’ will pick us up in a minute.” He kindly informed her.

“I can’t thank you enough for helping me out Fiddleford.” Pacifica quietly told him.

“You know I’m always here ta help Pacifica.” He gave a kind, comforting smile. He suddenly felt a vibration in his right pocket and immediately retrieved his phone, quickly reading the text message. “Tate’s here! I’ll lend ya my umbrella when we’re outside.” He extended a warm hand to Pacifica.

“Sounds good Fiddleford.” She affirmed, clasping her small hand into his gentle one. She was beginning to feel more at ease in his presence. She was safe at last. 

“You two have a wonderful day!” The librarian told them. “And Fiddleford, thank you so much for your generous donation towards the library!”

“Yer most certainly welcome Miss Cicierega! You take care now!” McGucket responded, tipping his hat to the librarian as he led Pacifica to the exit doors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: I just picked up Journal 3 and I decided to make minor changes in this chapter to keep up with those bits of canon information. Even though the Journal stated that Fiddleford doesn't reunite with Tate until after Ford's visit, I still decided to keep their reunion promptly after Weirdmageddon for the sake of this story.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pacifica steps inside her former home, now Fiddleford's new shed, where she learns how much the town had changed before explaining her predicament to him and Tate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a heads up, this chapter contains child abuse, although it's not in graphic detail.
> 
> Look at the end notes for the explanation of the asterisks **
> 
> Also, you will win a free virtual cookie is you can guess the TV/Film reference Nutters and I included in the chapter (there's a few, but nothing too distracting we hope).

As Fiddleford escorted Pacifica outside, he opened up his pink polka-dotted umbrella and hovered it over the young girl’s head. Pacifica shivered, realizing how cold she was. Tate was parked in front of the library in his navy blue jeep.

Tate got out, nodded at Pacifica and helped Fiddleford load her things into the trunk. Fiddleford opened the door for Pacifica and the girl climbed into the back before putting her seatbelt on. When the McGuckets took their seats in the front, Fiddleford asked Tate to turn the heating up in the hopes of warming Pacifica a little before they reached the manor.

Tate looked at Pacifica curiously in the rear view mirror as he started up the jeep. He heard of her family’s departure from Gravity Falls a while back and couldn’t help but wonder why the young girl returned to the sleepy community alone. When he caught her eyes looking back he coughed and turned his attention back to the road. Pacifica hunched over herself slightly, partly because she was cold and partly because it made her feel a little safer.

Fiddleford turned to smile at her. “You alright sunshine?” She nodded not sure if it was true or not. “We’ll be back at the shed in no time. Then we’ll get ya warmed up an’ you can tell me what’s up.”

Pacifica hunched in on herself more and didn’t see the concerned look Fiddleford gave her. After all these weeks of planning Pacifica wondered if this had been a mistake. Moments before she’d felt so certain but now she couldn’t help wondering if she’d done the right thing.

Pacifica took a deep breath and tried to reassure herself. One thing she knew for sure; she wasn’t going back. Even if this didn’t work, she wouldn’t return to her parents. She’d run away to somewhere new, somewhere they would never find her.

She looked out of the window and watched the town she dearly loved flash past. She didn’t want to leave again but she would if it was the only way to avoid going back to her parents.

When the car climbed up the winding hill, Pacifica’s stomach twisted with anticipation. Would they approve of her plan? She was sure Fiddleford would want to help but not entirely certain he’d know how to. What if her mission backfires and the McGuckets suffer the most for it? Worst case scenario, her parents would accuse Fiddleford of kidnapping their precious daughter, sue him for everything he’s got, settle it in court and win. Pacifica gulped at the horrid thought. The last thing she would want is for Fiddleford to get in trouble for assisting her.

As the car approached the gate, Pacifica was astonished to see the number of alterations made on the former Northwest Manor during her absence. The two gate doors were no longer present, making it easy for anyone to waltz right into the courtyard. She also noted the two enormous NW hedges were transformed into a number of large, whimsical topiaries; these included a dragon, a herd of elephants, a tyrannosaurus rex, a stegosaurus, two narwhals crossing their horns, and a scraggly haired man with scissors for hands. Her observations went to a halt when the car stopped by the front doors.

“Well, home sweet home!” Fiddleford chirped as he unbuckled his seatbelt and slid out the passenger door. Once he was outside the vehicle, he opened up the backseat door and held out a gentle hand for Pacifica to help her exit the car. Pacifica accepted Fiddleford’s offer as she grabbed onto his hand and nervously stepped out of the jeep.

Once the girl stood on her own two feet, she anxiously gazed at her former abode. She almost forgot how gigantic and foreboding the manor was. Pacifica felt intimidated by the estate as its myriad of windows towered over her. She went to get her things from the back but Fiddleford waved her away.

“I can carry yer bags fer ya!” Fiddleford offered.

“Dad, I told you not to do any heavy lifting. The doctor said you need to slowly get that arm better. You can’t strain it too much,” Tate said, rolling his eyes as he got the suitcases himself. “I’ll carry ‘em.”

 _At least he’s been seeing a doctor for his physical health._ Pacifica thought with relief. But as Tate retrieved her belongings, another question arose. “Wait, what happened to the butler?” Pacifica asked the old inventor. “Didn’t he stay after you bought the manor?”

“Nope! He said he’d dealt with this crazy town for long enough and quit. Didn’t need one anyway,” Fiddleford answered her. “I’m the kind of fella who likes to work with my hands, which gives me a good excuse ta be more productive ‘round the house.”

Tate carried Pacifica's luggage and immediately set off for the manor. “I’ll put your bags in the first living room on the right for now,” he told Pacifica. “You can get some clean clothes from your suitcase and head to the bathroom to dry off. Then you can tell us what’s going on.” Pacifica nodded and followed the stoic man inside.

The moment Pacifica stepped foot inside her former abode, her jaw dropped at the most unusual sight. There were at least a dozen gnomes hanging sat around a table they’d set up in the hall. A closer look revealed that they were playing poker. Two other gnomes appeared to be drunk and were swinging from the chandelier bellowing a sea shanty from the top of their lungs.

“Shmebulock!!!” Shmebulock happily alerted his brethren of the arrival of Fiddleford, Tate, and Pacifica. The rest of the gnomes paused their game to welcome them.

“Hey guys, the man of the hour has returned!” Jeff joyously exclaimed, raising a soda can. The other gnomes cheered in response, waving at the owner of the house.

“Howdy fellers!” Fiddleford greeted the little men with a wave. “Pacifica, this is Shembulock, Jeff, Carson, Steve, Jason, Mike, Andy, Tony, Linkara, Oscar, Sam, Vimes, Havelock, Vetinari, Grimalkin, Jim, Kirk and Betty. Their home got destroyed durin’ Weirdmageddon so they’re livin’ here for now.”

Pacifica realized that her mouth was hanging open and closed it. “I thought everything that happened during Bill’s reign of terror over Gravity Falls had been undone.”

“I wish,” Tate mentioned bitterly. “We thought that too at first. Unfortunately, only damage done by Bill and his minions was fixed. All of the destruction brought upon by the humans and the other supernatural creatures was left unrepaired. Imagine filling out the insurance forms because some jerk stole your fishing gear when, by law, you can’t talk about Weirdmageddon.”

“Mayor Tyler said he was gonna make some improvements to that law soon,” Fiddleford informed reassuringly. “Since there was a number of complaints filed, he promised ta incorporate more positive measures to help the town cope with what happened, such as startin’ up a support group where people can talk about their experiences an’ try ta help each other. But he still insists on not lettin’ outsiders know of what happened.”

“Like they’d believe us anyway,” Tate huffed, slightly mollified but clearly still annoyed. “I don’t want to tell tourists what happened. I just want Insur-A-Care to pay up!”

It was the biggest outburst Pacifica had ever heard from Tate. While she’d never spent much time talking to him, even after Weirdmageddon, he’d always seemed very serious and held no-nonsense perspective. She watched as Tate took a deep breath and his face became passive again.

“Sorry,” He said in his normal controlled voice. “I’ve been a little stressed since the lake closed to the public while they make repairs and file whole new risk assessment forms.” He shrugged like it was nothing and started carrying Pacifica’s bags towards the living room.

“He took it personally when he found his stuff at his bait shop gone.” Fiddleford told her in a whisper as they followed him.

“Yeah, but at least his woodland home wasn’t destroyed by herd of Manotaurs fleeing from a cloud of Eye Bats.” Betty retorted from the poker table.

“Bingo!” one of the other gnomes - Pacifica couldn’t remember which - shouted excitedly.

“I don’t think that’s how we’re supposed to play poker Kirk.” 

“Oh right, sorry Jim. Uh.....Uno?”

“That sounds about right, but I use my Blues-Eyes White Dragon so you lose anyway.”

One of the other gnomes pushed a large pile of chips into the center of the table. “I would like to buy a vowel!” He proudly proclaimed. Jeff released an annoyed groan while Shmebulock facepalmed in disbelief.

Suddenly, a small raccoon appeared from under the poker table and immediately jumped onto Fiddleford. “Raccoon Wife! How are ya girl?” He asked cheerfully as he cuddled the energetic animal. “Don’t worry, I’ve brought ya somethin’ ta nibble on,” he chuckled, zipping down the right pocket of his raincoat and retrieving a small plastic bag filled with apple slices. The southerner opened up the baggie and offered the small pieces of the tart fruit to the raccoon. The animal accepted his offer and started to gobble down on the slices.

Pacifica was startled by the animal’s presence despite Fiddleford cradling the critter like a mother would to her newborn child. _Wait, did he say Raccoon Wife?_ The young girl was deeply puzzled by the bizarre situation. “Why do you have a raccoon in the house, and more importantly, how and why are you married to said raccoon?”

“Oh,” Fiddleford realized that Pacifica was unaware of his former beau. “It’s a long story, but I met this lovely lil’ lady sometime durin’ the summer, when we fought over the same strand of meat we found from the garbage.” Pacifica winced when Fiddleford brought up his days as a homeless hillbilly, scavenging the streets for any food he could come across. Fiddleford, however, was unfazed as he continued his story. “It was a quite the scuffle, but it ended when our mouths kissed accidentally!”

Pacifica raised her eyebrows at the sheer the absurdity of the story. “O-okay?”

“She started visitin’ me ever since an’ over time we became a couple. However the relationship started ta go downhill when I discovered that she only liked me whenever I brought food. She left me before Weirdmageddon started when she somehow escaped from the underground bunker. But it wasn’t until I moved in this here shed that she started visitin’ me again. Even though she was very feisty an’ didn’t return my affections, I didn’t have the heart ta leave her outside. So I took her in as my pet!”

Pacifica softly smiled when Fiddleford concluded his tale. _At least they both have a happy ending._

Raccoon Wife hopped off of Fiddleford, landing on the ground with its claws. She started circling around Pacifica and curiously sniffed the poor girl. The blonde began to feel uneasy at being inspected by the raccoon.

“Don’t worry Pacifica, I got her vaccinated at the vet a while back. So she’s clear of rabies an’ any other natural diseases,” Fiddleford assured her. “But I’ll keep her closer to me so that she doesn’t bother ya!” He scooped up the raccoon from the floor and gently placed her on the nearby couch.

“She’s relatively harmless,” Tate added as returned from dropping off Pacifica’s things. He helped his father take off his raincoat. Pacifica released herself from her soaked trench coat and Tate took it off her hands.“The worst thing she can possibly do to you is use its claws to play with your hair.”

He placed the jacket and trench coat on the coat rack. He swiftly took his blue hat off, wrung the excessive rain water from it and hung it up on a spare hook on the rack to dry. When he returned, Raccoon Wife jumped from Fiddleford’s hold and rushed towards the bait shop owner. Despite flinching backwards, Tate couldn’t stop the inevitable. Raccoon Wife clung to him, climbed towards the top of his head and proceeded to brush its claws through his bushy brown hair. Even though the animal did not have bad intentions, Tate was clearly uncomfortable with the critter messing with his hair. “Uh dad, a little help please.....”

Fiddleford came to his son’s aid and gently took the raccoon off of him. “Sorry ‘bout that Tate!” He sheepishly apologized.

Tate, however, was not upset at the raccoon’s antics and simply shrugged it off. “It’s alright dad, I’ll be fine.” He turned to Pacifica, “You’re things are this way.”

As they walked, Pacifica looked up at the walls of the main hall and the disturbing tapestry of Bill Cipher was no longer there. It was one of the few decorative pieces of furniture her parents hadn’t taken with them after selling the manor to Fiddleford.

“This way dear.” Fiddleford motioned for Pacifica, but he stopped speaking upon realizing what Pacifica was looking at. The bearded inventor remembered the annual Northwest Fest that took place in the manor earlier that year. He put on his ‘crazy old kook’ facade as not to attract any unwanted attention when he searched through the crowds for Dipper Pines. When he finally found the young boy, they ran off into a small crevice in the main hall where he tried to warn Dipper of the oncoming apocalypse. Unfortunately for Fiddleford, Dipper suggested that they discuss the matter on the following day and to enjoy the party. What the young Pines boy didn’t know then was the imminent danger of the portal’s reactivation and the great destruction it would bring upon the town. His threat was heightened by the ominous tapestry behind him of Bill’s reign of terror over Gravity Falls as its natives were begging for mercy.

Returning to the present, Fiddleford was well aware that the three-sided abomination was no longer a grievous threat to Gravity Falls, let alone the world. Seeing how shocked Pacifica was of the discarded wall decoration, the old codger decided to put her qualms to rest. “That tapestry of Bill was gone when I first moved in, along with other paraphernalia of that dang triangle so there’s no need ta worry." 

Pacifica was speechless at Fiddleford. Perhaps Bill incited so much terror into her parents that even they didn’t want to be bothered with the demon’s presence any longer. She remembered how they brought all of their portraits, including those from the hidden room, along with them when they moved to Portland but she hadn’t seen that one. Maybe they had destroyed it.

“I even had the local priest bless the entire shed with holy water just ta be safe, although it took a _whole_ lotta holy water ta get the job done.” He added, giving her a friendly expression. An amused smile appeared on Pacifica’s face before chuckling at his comment. She truly missed the inventor’s odd sense of humor during her absence from Gravity Falls.

She was brought out of her musings when she heard Tate whistle for her and Fiddleford. They heeded his call and walked towards him, where he already placed the suitcases near the bathroom door. Pacifica opened up one of her suitcases and grabbed a white t-shirt, the llama sweater Mabel gave her, a pair of sweatpants and a fluffy pink towel. She also managed to discreetly grab the yellow envelope that contained important evidence, concealing it in between the folds of the towel.

“I’ll be back shortly, I have to grab the groceries from the jeep,” Tate said before dismissing himself.

“I won’t be too long in the bathroom,” Pacifica told Fiddleford.

“Take as much time as ya need darlin’,” Fiddleford replied. “I’ll make you some lunch in the kitchen while you dry up. You like tomato soup an’ grilled cheese?” he asked.

Pacifica nodded. “Thank you Fiddleford,” She said smiling before leaving to get changed.

Upon entering the bathroom, she instinctively locked the door and settled her new clothes on the counter. Staring at the unaltered tiles and wallpaper, Pacifica stood motionless as she was brought back to the many times during her youth in which she had to mask the bruises she received for stepping far out of line.

_Preston Northwest wasn't by nature a violent man. He didn't need to be. He could afford people who could fulfill that purpose. Not that he ever had to specify what he wanted when it came to that sort of thing. When she was younger, Pacifica had quickly learned that if she didn’t obey the bell her father would order her latest caretaker to ‘discipline her’. There were never any marks where people could see them so no one would ever expect anything suspicious going on in Northwest Manor. For the most part, Preston and Priscilla would do other things to punish her like withholding food until she fell into line. Soon enough she simply did what was expected of her._

Pacifica shuddered. There was no way she could ever live with such horrible treatment any longer. She needed to switch topics to muse over. As the young girl changed, she tried to shake off the negative intrusive thoughts about her plan to leave her family.

She still had some faded bruises on her backside courtesy of Miss Trunchbull from when she’d first arrived at her aunt’s house. Miss Trunchbull had a very archaic view on discipline and education which was probably why her father had hired her in the first place. Her policy of _‘use the rod, beat the child!’_ was a literal one.

The first few weeks after leaving Gravity Falls had been unbearable. Then she’d started to act more like the person Miss Trunchbull and her father had wanted and things had got a little easier. It had taken a lot of time and she’d had to be careful to avoid detection as she formed her escape plan but so far it was working.

 _I can’t go back to them, no matter how many times dad has to use that stupid bell,_ She thought to herself as she slipped into the llama sweater. A strange wave of nostalgia hit Pacifica as she felt the soft textures of Mabel’s hand-made sweater. She first wore the fuzzy sweater out of reluctance, vehemently stating how she wasn’t going to like it, despite the clothing protecting her from the chilly winds whirling through the forest. Looking into the mirror, Pacifica was grateful for wearing the hand-made sweater that was offered to her by Mabel, the friendliest person she ever met.

Once she was dressed from head to toe in dry attire, she faced her reflection. The timidness that emitted from her facial features escaped when she exhaled, replaced with sheer determination. _Fiddleford and his son are going to help me through this mess and if they can’t, I’ll find another way._

As she exited the bathroom, she flinched and released a gasp upon seeing a dozen or so sentient disembodied hands leisurely crawling across the carpeted floor. She was still in shock as a white-haired woman with pale green skin wearing a long brown robe shuffle by, carrying paper bags filled with groceries. “Did my legion of hands scare you?” She asked, noticing how frightened Pacifica was.

“Yeah. I’m not gonna lie, even after surviving Weirdmageddon I’m still easily spooked,” Pacifica admitted.

“The Hand Witch understands…” The old lady nodded. She immediately snapped her fingers, prompting the disembodied hands to come to the frowning woman. “The Hand Witch demands that all of you apologize for startling this poor girl,” She commanded her minions. The hands jumped into the air, [forming into a fist with the thumb extending over the index finger and rotated twice in clockwise motions](http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-signs/s/sorry.htm).

“It’s alright,” Pacifica said, feeling slightly at ease.

“Hey sweetheart,” An athletic young man with flowing brown hair called out to the Hand Witch while carrying a bundle of groceries. “Where do you want me to put these?”

“Hiya babe!” The robed woman waved back, fluttering her eyelashes flirtily before walking towards him. The severed hands followed her lead. “Come come, the Hand Witch will lead you to the kitchen.” With that, the bizarre homely lady guided her beefcake boyfriend through the hall and into the kitchen area.

Pacifica followed suit as she kept behind the herd of hands. She wasn’t sure if she was relieved when they didn’t talk the the Helping Hands from the movie  _Labyrinth_ , or in that made them more creepy as the scuttled along the floor. When she arrived at the kitchen, she saw Fiddleford busily tending to the stove while Tate was putting fruit away in the refrigerator. The Hand Witch and her boyfriend placed the groceries on the kitchen counter and started to take out the containments from two of the paper bags.

“Howdy Hand Witch! Matt!” Fiddleford greeted pleasantly surprised to see that they brought in the rest of the food from Tate's jeep.

“Thanks for helping me out with the groceries.” Tate said sincerely.

“Of course!” The muscular man answered.

“You two did so much for us ever since our home was destroyed by that wretched geometrical monstrosity. It’s the least the Hand Witch could do!”

The old eccentric beamed upon noticing Pacifica enter the room. “Pacifica, it’s nice ta see ya all bundled up in that sweater of yours!”

“Yes well, I’m feeling much better than I was earlier and wearing something more comfortable helps.” Pacifica replied as she glanced downwards at her llama sweater.

“Excellent! Now that I’ve made yer lunch, I’ll let ya eat up in the dinin’ room before we chit chat.” He carried her tray which contained a steaming bowl of tomato soup alongside a savory grilled cheese sandwich. Pacifica followed Fiddleford into the dining room where he placed her meal onto the table. He moved the chair back so Pacifica could get herself seated.

“I’m just gonna grab myself somethin’ ta eat, but I’ll return shortly,” He told her before he left for the kitchen.

Pacifica inspected the meal before her. The sweet aroma of tomato and cheese emitting from the tray excited her olfactory senses. Last time she ate was a quick breakfast consisting of a granola bar and water before leaving her aunt’s place for the half-hour walk towards the bus station. Grabbing the spoon, she scooped up a small morsel of the tomato soup and inserted it into her mouth.

Despite the heat, the soup was quite savory. Fiddleford returned with a sandwich as she was eating the soup. Pacifica took the opportunity to make some pleasant small talk by asking the questions that gnawed on her mind since she arrived at the _'shed'_. “So Fiddleford,” Pacifica spoke up as he sat down. “How many people are living here at the moment?”

“Oh lots. It depends when you ask. They come an’ go but a lotta critters use this here shed as a base while their homes are bein' repaired. It’s been keeping me as busy as a bee helpin’ ’em all,” Fiddleford answered happily. “Plus I’ve been workin’ fer Soos over at the Mystery Shack, helpin’ out wit maintenance repairs as well as buildin’ some of the latest attractions fer the museum. I even created a small-scale Gobblewonker animatronic that emits smoke from its nostrils an’ it seems ta be a real crowd-pleaser!”

“That’s incredible!” Pacifica responded with genuine content. “Is Soos a good boss to you?”

“Why he's a fantastic employer! In fact, everyone at the shack is wonderful. Wendy an’ Melody are always great ta work with. An’ Soos sure knows how run a business. He’s open ta suggestions an’ very kind ta everyone, but he knows a whole lot ‘bout attractin’ customers an’ puttin’ on quite the spectacle wit group tours. Stanley would be mighty proud of him!”

After Pacifica finished her meal, Fiddleford got up and walked towards where she sat. “Now that ya had somethin’ decent ta eat, we can chit-chat in the livin’ room an’ warm up by the fireplace.”

The spectacled southerner led the young blonde into the living room towards the fireplace. Near the hearth, there was an _L_ shaped sofa, a loveseat, and two leather recliners, all of which were beige. There was even a wooden rocking chair near the fireplace. A blue rug with intricate floral patterns connected the furniture that really tied the room together. At the fireplace, Tate and a gnome with a bandage on his brown beard were busily feeding the roaring embers with thick pieces of firewood.

“Tate, Betty! Thanks fer fixin’ up the fire,” Fiddleford said to his son and small friend.

“Sure thing dad,” Tate replied as adjusted his light green hat. Betty gave a quick salute before making his exit to return to the poker game in the main hall.

Fiddleford turned his attention towards Pacifica. “Why don’t you take a seat on the couch sugar cube.”

“Okay,” Pacifica said quietly as she settled herself on the two-seat sofa. It was moments later that Fiddleford took a seat beside her. Tate decided to place himself on the recliner, facing his father and the young girl.

“So Pacifica, what’s been upsettin’ ya?” Fiddleford inquired, using a gentle tone.

Pacifica was silent for a moment as she formulated her words before speaking. This was important and she wanted to get it right. “Fiddleford.....you’ve already done so much for me in the past and words can’t describe how grateful I am...” She took a deep breath in an attempt to shake away the fear and desperation festering within the pit of her stomach. She had to inform the McGuckets of her situation if she was to find relief. “...but I need your help.”

She grabbed the yellow envelope and showcased it to Fiddleford. The old eccentric opened up the package to discover a myriad of photos containing journal entries, articles on financial recovery, the insanity defense, law article and a number of other papers. The thing that caught Fiddleford’s eye and turned his stomach were the photos. They showed bruises and red marks on Pacifica, each one had a hand written date and the number of days since Pacifica had left Gravity Falls. The old inventor covered his mouth with his hand in shock. Tate got up to check on his father, but was equally appalled when he glanced at the bruises Pacifica documented.

“Ever since my family and I moved from Gravity Falls, my life has turned into, for lack of a better term, a living hell,” Pacifica began to explain. “My parents are still obsessed with their financial _‘crisis’_ and are too focused on plans to obtain more money. They barely had time for me but when they did, I couldn’t do right for doing wrong in my father’s eyes. He never hit me because that’s not his style, but he did hire a tutor who was more than willing to inflict physical pain onto me.”

Tears started to form in Fiddleford’s eyes as he listened to Pacifica and all of the torment she endured. Tate placed a comforting hand on his father’s shoulder, but balled his free hand into a fist. The stoic man put up a solemn face to conceal his internal disgust with how poorly Pacifica’s parents, especially her father, had treated her.

“I needed to get out but I couldn’t let them discover what I was planning. That’s why I turned up without warning. If I’d contacted you and they’d found out I wouldn’t have escaped. But long story short, I need to emancipate myself from my parents but I can’t do it alone. My parents are still rich and influential enough to make this disappear if they wanted, and I can’t go back to them.”

She looked at the two adults with desperate, imploring eyes. “I know it’s not fair to ask you after all you’ve done for me and everyone else but please, _please_ help me. I need somewhere safe to stay while I go through the process of legally escaping their hold over me.”

Pacifica waited with bated breath for a reply. Fiddleford had gone white during her speech and looked sick. Before he could say anything though, Pacifica was startled when Tate spoke up, “Of course we’ll help. This sort of thing can’t be allowed to happen.”

Fiddelford nodded in agreement. The bearded man realized how hard it must have been for Pacifica to muster up the courage and go through a risky escape plan, which required her to travel across the state alone, so she could ask for his assistance. His heart went out to the poor girl and he wanted to help her through her situation the best way he could. A look of righteous anger and determination gleamed behind those green spectacles. Pacifica would have been frightened if she’d seen that expression on anyone else’s face but she knew the old man’s fury wasn’t directed at her, but the people who had hurt her over the past weeks.

“Darn right we’ll help!” Fiddelford said forcefully. “An’ if yer parents or tutor dare try anythin’ suspicious, they’ll find out how bad things can get when they have ta fight an angry hillbilly!”

Pacifica gave Fiddleford and Tate a small, but grateful smile in relief knowing that they will support her during her emancipation process.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **I know that the Hand Witch story was made up by Stan, but I thought she was really funny in Little Giftshop of Horrors. Plus it gives me a good excuse to include a female supernatural being who temporarily resides in McGucket’s house and after watching the episode again and seeing the sentient hand in the gift shop, I wouldn't be surprised if Stan ran into her on a previous occasion. 
> 
> **This translates to 'I'm sorry' in American Sign Language


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Pacifica shows Fiddleford and Tate another chilling piece of evidence, they promise to do everything in their power to make sure she never gets hurt again.
> 
> Pacifica decides to accompany Fiddleford during his shift at the Mystery Shack.

For the first time in a long while, Pacifica felt a great sense of relief. Fiddleford and Tate agreed to help her with the emancipation process. With the sufficient evidence, Pacifica could successfully liberate herself from her father’s iron grip. However, a twinge of doubt began to creep into her mind.

“But how would we go about presenting my case?” she asked worriedly. “I know my parents no longer hold any prestige in Gravity Falls, but who’s to say they wouldn’t hire some hot-shot lawyer who could sway anyone into believing them?”

“Your parents may think that they have the upper hand with their money, but that pales in comparison to all of the tangible proof you acquired,” Tate answered solemnly. “I know someone in Gravity Falls who works for Child Protection Services, and she might be able to help out with your case. And since there’s an abundance of incriminating evidence against your parents from the pictures you took, you clearly have the advantage over them. Besides, this is the town that sent a child to an adult prison. When people here decide something should stop, the make damn sure it does whatever the law says.”

“An’ you did the right thing by documentin’ their wrongdoins.” Fiddleford added.

“Do you.....do you think the fact my father used a bell to control me could be used as evidence as well?” Pacifica asked. She rummaged though the evidence she’d brought and pulled out a dictaphone. Fiddleford and Tate exchanged worried glances while Pacifica grabbed the digital device. She flicked past the first two recordings, pressed play and Preston’s voice was heard.

_“Absolutely not! A Northwest does not go to a public park and mingle with the riff raff.”_

_“But I haven’t been outside in over a week,” Pacifica protested. “I just want to get some fresh air. I won’t be-” The powerful sound of a bell being rung interrupted her argument. Pacifica’s voice fell silent upon hearing the instrument._

_“What have I told you about answering back and don’t lie.”_

_“I didn’t l...” Ring, ring, ring._

_“You’ve been out for your daily walks around the grounds and don’t act like you haven’t. I’ve seen you through the windows marching with your tutor every day this week. Now you know I hate it when you let down this family with your dishonest nature and unladylike behavior so kindly apologize and we can forget this silly affair.”_

_There were a few seconds of silence before the recorded Pacifica said all in a rush, “Walking around the front yard doesn’t count as going out. I’m still trapped in the grounds of this house. Please! It doesn’t have to be the park. I just want to go outside for a while. You could pick where I go and I’d be accompanied at all times.”_

_Preston sighed and rang the bell again._

_“This is your last chance to say you’re sorry or I’ll have to have words with your tutor about giving you some harsher punishments as the ones she currently using clearly aren’t effective.”_

_“I’m sorry,” the recorded Pacifica sounded close to tears, “I spoke out of turn. You are right of course. I have marched outside every day and am getting my daily amount of sunlight and exercise.”_

_“That’s better,” Preston’s voice was satisfied._

The recording ended.

The stunned silence echoed throughout the room as Pacifica put down the digital voice recorder.

“If that’s not enough, there are other recordings.” She told them nervously, her eyes cast downwards. After playing the audio recording, Pacifica could not bring herself to look at the appalled adults standing before her.

She knew it was silly but Pacifica hated the fact that she’d almost always fell into line when her father used the bell. Maybe he wouldn’t have used it if she’d resisted more, fought back, he would have stopped. If she hadn’t let him get away with treating her like that, she might not have needed Fiddleford and Tate’s help so much.

She remembered hearing a radio show once. It was a call in show where people could get relationship advice. A man had told the presenter that his fiancée had cheated on him multiple times but she always apologized when she got caught and promised it wouldn’t happen again. He’d forgiven her so far and wanted to know if he was doing the right thing. The presenter had told the caller that people set their own standard for how they let people treat them.

_“If you keep forgiving her, she’ll keep doing it. Right now she’s sure she can get away with it so she’s not going to stop. If I was you, I’d leave right now. You deserve better but you’ll never get it if you just let people get away with things.”_

Pacifica wondered if she was to blame for the way her father treated her. She’d spent her whole life letting him get away with it. Even now, she hadn’t been able to face him alone. She’d come running for help from people who owed her nothing and had their own lives to worry about. Earlier in the summer she reluctantly came to Dipper for assistance and he, in turn, gave her the courage to stand up to her parents. Now she turned to Fiddleford and Tate McGucket.

She was broken from her dark thoughts when Fiddleford spoke, “I reckon there’s more than enough here ta get ya away from them fer good.”

“Not just that,” Tate added cold fury in his voice, “people like that should be in prison. With the evidence you’ve gathered, they might even face some serious time behind bars.”

“I’m sure their lawyers could make never happen but I don’t really care. I just don’t want to go back to them.” Pacifica told them, her voice filled with doubt.

Fiddleford was shocked beyond words. _No child should ever go through such torment, especially from the parents._ Up until today, the old man never assumed that Pacifica had any familial issues. Whenever the Northwests appeared in public, they always wore their smug smiles while possessing an aura of sophistication. But upon looking and hearing the cold hard evidence of all the abuse Pacifica underwent, he realized that there was so much dysfunctionality hiding behind their false facades.

The embers of righteous anger burned inside him. It was difficult for him to bridle the sheer animosity towards Preston. Using horrific, Pavlovian tactics to mentally manipulate a young, impressionable child was truly despicable. _It’s downright criminal an’ unthinkable ta harm yer own child that way._

Despite his harnessed fury, the sadness he felt for Pacifica was even greater. He could not begin to fathom how Pacifica, the girl he formed a strong and meaningful friendship with, endured all those years of psychological conditioning and emotional abuse. All he wanted was for this poor girl to be safe and secure, no longer having to live in a state of constant fear. With his paternal intuition kicking in, he felt the need to protect Pacifica from her abusers and to provide her a nurturing environment she could feel safe in.

Fiddleford looked back at Pacifica, who had gone back to averting her gaze and struggled to blink away the pooling tears from forming. Acting on instinct, he knelt down and pulled Pacifica into a protective embrace.

“I’ll make sure they never hurt you again,” he spoke gently, squeezing her with reassurance. “Tate an’ I are gonna help you through this, an’ we’ll make certain that you’ll no longer have ta live under such terrible parentin’.” Pacifica allowed herself to cry on Fiddleford’s shoulder. She buried her face into the soft fabric of his shirt as the tears descended down her cheeks.

Tate silently watched his father comfort the anxious teen. After digesting all of the evidence Pacifica presented, the younger McGucket felt obligated to do everything in his power to protect her from her opprobrious and hurtful family.

After minutes of crying and holding onto Fiddleford, Pacifica began to take deep breaths to compose herself, just as the southerner instructed her at the library.

“Thank you,” Pacifica sniffled, wiping away the last of her tears. “For everything.”

“Of course darlin’." Fiddleford soothed. "I’m always here ta help.”

Once Pacifica released herself from the embrace, Tate decided now was the best time to help the girl settle in. “So Pacifica…” He rubbed the back of his neck, carefully thinking of how to bring up the topic without sounding forced. “I can help you bring your bags upstairs, I just need to know where your room is situated.”

“Alright, I can show you.” She replied as she stood up. Fiddleford followed suit and the three started to make their way back to the stairwell in the main hall.

As the trio strode through the hallway, Tate pulled something that looked like a map from his pocket. Getting a closer look, Pacifica realized it was a map of the manor’s interior. “We can settle your belongings in your old bedroom if you like. I just need you to tell me which floor and wing it’s located before we head on up.”

“Why is there a directory map of the manor?” Pacifica inquired.

“Cause I made ‘em,” Fiddleford answered proudly. “Admittedly, I got lost a few times durin’ my first week livin’ here and Tate _might_ have called the police ta search the shed after I disappeared for over a day.”

“Two days, dad,” Tate softly corrected with a small smile. He turned to face Pacifica, “After that, I wanted to make sure he’d always be able to find his way around so we scouted the house together and dad made a schematic of each floor as we went.”

“I’m good at schematics after all the robots I made over the years.” Fiddleford nodded.

“Once we’d made one, dad thought it might be a good idea to make copies for anyone who wanted to stay here,” Tate added.

Pacifica looked at the map in thought. It seemed like, after a few initial hiccups, Fiddleford was adjusting well to the place. He’d made it his own by letting everyone else in.

“It’s alright, I remember where my room is and I can take it from here,” Pacifica said. She felt as though she caused them enough trouble without making them carry her things around too. She didn’t want to sound ungrateful though so she quickly added, “But I appreciate the offer and all your help.”

“You sure ya don’t need any extra help hun’?” Fiddleford asked with concern.

“I’m positive,” Pacifica affirmed, giving the old eccentric a soft smile. She needed time to think anyway and some time alone would help that. Before Tate or Fiddleford could put themselves to more trouble for her sake, Pacifica grabbed her things and started heading for her old room.

It took longer than she’d expected while dragging her case behind her to reach her old bedroom. When she arrived, she was amazed that it was still in pristine condition apart from a small coat of dust. Even with all the rambunctious gnomes and sentient disembodied hands scuttling around the house this room somehow seemed to have escaped the carnage. Her old bed sheets and pillows were still there, everything was right where she left them. Her parents hadn’t bothered to take every last parcel of her belongings with them when they sold the house.

She plopped her suitcases on the carpeted floor and opened them up. She immediately sifted through her belongings in search of her pajamas. It was now getting late and she was both emotionally and physically exhausted.

It wasn’t long before Pacifica was climbing into her old bed. As her eyes drifted shut, she wondered what the morning would bring. Whatever it was, she was certain that it would be better than if she’d still been with her parents.

\-----------------------------------------

“Shmebulock!”

Pacifica’s eyes opened upon hearing the deep, scratchy voice. _I’m fairly certain that’s not my morning alarm ringtone._ The young blonde thought while she adjusted her vision. Once the thick clouds of tiredness dissipated from her eyesight, she slowly sat up in bed only to be greeted by the scraggly gnome who stood by her doorway. Shmebulock happily waved at Pacifica before he turned his attention to the hallway.

“Shmebulock!” The gnome hollered, gesturing his arms to direct whomever he was talking to towards Pacifica’s bedroom. It wasn’t long until Fiddleford and Racoon Wife appeared. Pacifica was never saw the inventor without his signature brown hat, and was surprised to see the small tufts of grey hair on his head. The now hatless man wore a green T-shirt and dark blue overalls.

“Mornin’ Pacifica!” He greeted exuberantly.

“Good morning, Fiddleford.” She returned. “Wait, what time is it?”

The old codger glanced down at pink Hello Kitty wristwatch before answering. “Why, it’s a little past 8:00. An’ now that yer up, would ya like me ta whip up some breakfast fer ya?”

“Yes please.” She answered. Pacifica slipped out of bed and followed Fiddleford down the hall. Shmebulock trotted alongside them as they made their way to the kitchen.

“Ya want me ta make you some eggs an’ bacon?” McGucket asked.

“Sure. Eggs and bacon sound appetizing.” Pacifica responded.

“Oh! I almost forgot,” Fiddleford exclaimed, almost startling Pacifica. “So Tate already left a report of yer case over at the CPS buildin’ an’ he made sure ta gather up all of the evidence you brought before he went out. Hopefully everythin’ will turn out alright an’ you won’t hafta worry about going back to yer parents.”

The young blonde smiled gratefully at the old oddball.

When they arrived at the kitchen, some of the supernatural guests had already situated themselves at the enormous table. Racoon Wife jumped down from Fiddleford’s shoulder, scampering towards a plate of half-eaten food that was conveniently placed on the floor. Shmebulock hopped onto the table to join with his gnome brethren, who a small table on to of the human sized one. The tiny men shared a stack of pancakes coated in sticky syrup and butter.

“I’ll get yer breakfast squared away, so just make yerself comfortable.”

“Okay.”

Pacifica spent a happy half an hour chatting with the gnomes and Fiddleford during breakfast. Andy told her how the gnomes had convinced Stanford Pines that they were hiding something under their hats when he’d been researching them over three decades ago.

“Supernatural investigators are so gullible,” Andy laughed. “He also believed in penguins! How crazy is that?”

Pacifica opened her mouth but Jeff shook his head, “Don’t even bother,” he told her with a sigh. “It’s not worth the headache.”

After they’d finished eating Pacifica and the gnomes insisted on doing the washing up while Fiddleford sat down and ate his own breakfast. Five minutes into the task, Pacifica was secretly wishing that Fiddleford hadn’t taken apart the dishwasher to make one of his inventions. Despite their best efforts, the gnomes were more of a hindrance than a help and more than one plate was smashed. Half way through the task, the gnomes started singing _‘That's What Bilbo Baggins Hates!’_

“I don’t think the song is supposed to suggest you do all that.” Pacifica stated incredulously.

“We know,” Linkara replied cheerfully. “We’re just really bad at not breaking things. We need someone to tell us what to do…” The gnome walked away from his brethren, hoping to speak with the young girl alone. “Ever fancied being a Queen?”

 _“No!”_ Both Pacifica and Fiddleford responded firmly.

“You lads know you’re not allowed to force anyone inta being yer queen,” Fiddleford told them sternly from the table.

“Who said 'force'?” Linkara said innocently. “I asked nicely.” Shmebulock smacked the back of the mischievous gnome’s head.

Jeff, who had a little more sense, gave a loud whistle. This action prompted the other gnomes to silently gaze at their leader, giving him their undivided attention. “So guys, how about we relax in the living room and watch some Netflix?”

The other gnomes cheered in response before scuttling out of the kitchen. “I love me some _Breaking Bad_!” One of them declared.

“But I wanna watch some _X-Files_ …” Another whined.

" _Twin Peaks_! _Twin Peaks_! _Twin Peaks_!" Three of them started to chant.

“Shmebulock!”

“Shmebulock, we are not watching _Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs_.”

“Shmebulooock...” The scraggly gnome reiterated in a defeated tone. 

“I don’t care how much you love Dopey. The rest of us haven’t seen _Brave_ yet,” one of the retreating voices complained. Soon enough, Pacifica and Fiddleford were the only souls left in the room.

“Ya get used to um,” Fiddleford told Pacifica fondly once they’d left. “They just need someone to keep an eye on them and keep them out of trouble. Jeff’s quite good at it now since he knows that he’s not allowed to kidnap girls and coerecin’ ‘em to be their queen.”

“Sorry about your plates,” Pacifica apologized, gesturing to the carnage the gnomes left.

“Don’t you worry about it. I can afford new ones and the gnomes only need doll sized ones anyway.”

Pacifica used a dustpan and brush to clean up the broken crockery and finally finished cleaning the unbroken pots while Fiddleford cleaned his own plate and cutlery.

“So Pacifica,” Fiddleford spoke up as he washed the last of the eating utensils. “I have work today over at the Mystery Shack, but my shift doesn’t start till 10:30. However, yer more than welcome ta join me if ya like.”

Pacifica didn’t have to think over the offer that was given. Going to the Mystery Shack and catching up with the familiar faces there certainly beats spending the entire day cooped up in the manor.

“Sure.” She answered contentedly.

“Great!” Fiddleford exclaimed joyfully, throwing his arms in the air. “Melody will pick us up at 10:00.”

Pacifica hadn’t had a chance to formally meet Melody yet. However, she’d heard a lot about her from Soos when they’d both been helping Fiddleford turn the shack into a fighting robot. If the woman could live up to half the things Soos said about she must be pretty special and Pacifica looked forward to meeting her for the first time.

“What should I do until then?” Pacifica asked. She knew that she had to do something to help around the manor to at least begin to repay Fiddleford and Tate’s help and hospitality but she wasn’t sure how to start.

Fiddleford laughed goodnaturedly and gestured to the pajamas Pacifica was still wearing. “Other than get dressed, just relax. Ya must still be tired after travelin’ all that way yesterday.”

Pacifica bit her lip nervously, knowing that this wasn’t enough but not wanting to insist incase she offended Fiddleford. In the end she nodded. She could always help at the Shack. Besides, Fiddleford was right; she was still tired.

\-----------------------------------------

An hour and a half later, a fully dressed Pacifica briskly walked down the stairs, catching up with Fiddleford near the front entrance. The old eccentric now wore his famous brown hat and his green-lens steampunk glasses.

“Ready!” She exhaled.

McGucket opened the door, allowing Pacifica to exit the manor first. The blonde immediately spotted a blue sedan parked near the front doors. The passenger seat window rolled down, revealing a bubbly light brunette in her 20s.

“Howdy Melody!” Fiddleford greeted excitedly.

Pacifica craned her neck to get a better look at the famous Melody. Through the car window, Pacifica could see that she had a round happy face, full lips and wavy light brown hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. Pacifica took an instant liking to her as she smiled at the both.

“Hello Fiddleford.” She turned to Pacifica, still smiling, “And you must be Pacifica. Fiddleford told me you’d be coming.”

Pacifica gave a nervous smile as she and Fiddleford headed down to the car. “I hope you don’t mind me tagging along.”

“Not at all. The more the merrier and it’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard all about how helped save Gravity Falls from a geometrical demon.”

They reached the car and Fiddleford opened the backseat door for Pacifica before jumping through the passenger seat window Dukes of Hazzard style. The teenage girl carefully entered the vehicle, shutting the door and buckling her seat belt.

“I didn’t really do much. I was just sort of there,” Pacifica admitted.

“That’s not what Soos, Fiddelford and Wendy tell me,” Melody assured her as she put the idling car into gear and drove away from the manor. “It sounds like quite the adventure, though I’m still not convinced the adults should have allowed children to assist in stopping the apocalypse. It must have been dangerous though, so it assures me that it was the only way.”

Pacifica found herself relaxing as Melody chatted casually with both her and Fiddleford about anything that entered her head. Soon, Pacifica was smiling genuinely and laughing along with them at the conversation.

“So Fiddleford, Soos called me earlier and said that his Abuelita will make us quesadillas for lunch!”

“Hoo-wee!”

“You like quesadillas Pacifica?” The young lady asked.

“Yeah, I’m a fan of them.” Pacifica replied casually.

The young Northwest used the time to get a better look at Melody through the mirror. The young woman wore a dark green question mark T-shirt, brown shorts and a grey cap. She assumed that Soos picked out the shirt and hat as part of the dress code. But what struck Pacifica the hardest was how genuinely nice Melody appeared.

It wasn’t long before they arrived at the Mystery Shack. As they parked up outside, Soos came running out to meet them. He was wearing his Mr. Mystery suit, along with Stan’s old fez and eyepatch. The new manager grinned from ear to ear as he lifted the young blonde and the southerner, giving them the biggest bear hug he possibly could.

“It’s great to see you both, dudes,” He happily said to Fiddleford and Pacifica before taking Melody’s hand and giving it a squeeze and they smiled at each other. Soos then leaned closer and he and Melody rubbed noses in a quick eskimo kiss of greeting.

“Is this part of the tour?” A confused voice called from the porch. It was only then that Pacifica noticed the small group of tourists.

“Yes,” Melody told them with an easy laugh, “this is called ‘couple who look like they’re in love.’”

“Are they in love or is this like the rock that looks like a face?”

“Yes,” Melody assured the visitor. “They…we’re in love.”

“Oh, okay.” The tourist pulled out a smart phone. “Smile for the camera!”

Soos decided to take the opportunity to kiss Melody’s cheek, which caused her to chuckle joyfully while the tourist took a few snapshots of the young couple.

Pacifica smiled at the affectionate couple. She glanced over to her side at Fiddleford, who gave her a comforting smile. The teen felt a great sense of relief and security returning to a more familiar place. What's more was the fact that she was surrounded by people who genuinely cared for her well-being. Now she wanted to re-immerse herself in the forested town she's proud to call home.

This _is going to be an interesting day._ Pacifica thought optimistically.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pacifica spends the day at the Mystery Shack.

After the tour ended, Soos led his employees and Pacifica into the Mystery Shack. The new Mr. Mystery opened up the gift shop door, which prompted the antique doorbell to ring. Chills shivered down Pacifica’s spine upon hearing the instrument’s resonance. However, she forced herself to restrain any sign of physical discomfort. She didn’t want Fiddleford and the others to become overly concerned for her sake.

 _I can handle it._ Pacifica mentally ordered herself. _I can’t be preoccupied with that stupid bell. I just have to focus on something else..._   

When the teen stepped inside the tourist trap, a look of wonder appeared on her face.

The gift shop was filled with various merchandising on display. Blue pine tree hats and yellow shooting star hats were showcased on the racks near the shop door. Copious amounts of novelty T-shirts decorated the wooden walls; there were the typical Gravity Falls and Mystery Shack tourism shirts as well as golden question marks and red and black shirts with the phrase _Bros Before Dinos._  There were also shirts with highly detailed portraits of pumas and panthers, both of which were presumably The Mountain® brand attire. Shelves aplenty were neatly stocked with UFO keychains, Mystery Shack snow-globes and other various knick-knacks. Crates were filled to the brim with plush Sascrotches, Gobblewonkers, and Cornicorns waiting to be bought by a responsible adult and cherished in the arms of a child. The check-out counter had four tip jars (Stan would never allow even one of those blasted things!) perfectly aligned. Upon closer examination, Pacifica saw that the jars had taped-on labels of the four popular family houses from the _Game of Thrones_ series. _I have to admit, that’s a pretty clever way to receive some extra cash._ Pacifica thought.

But the most interesting sight inside the store was an amateur sculpture of Stanley Pines, the founder of the Mystery Shack and previous Mr. Mystery. The stone Stan reflected its human counterpart; shifting his weight on the eight-ball cane in a relaxed pose all while grinning from ear to ear. The statue itself, though chiseled in an amateur fashion, was fully realized through love and passion from the artist (Pacifica was placing her bets that it was Soos). Needless to say, the Shack was given new life under Soos’s management.

“So Pacifica, what do ya think?” Fiddleford happily inquired, standing right beside the young teen.

“Soos has done a great job fixing up the place.” Pacifica answered, eliciting approval of the portly man’s updates on the Mystery Shack. 

Moments later, two small children cautiously walked up to the sculpture of Stan. “What’s that creature?” A small wide-eyed girl inquired, pointing at the statue. The boy was petrified by the stone effigy.

“Oh! That’s no creature little dude.That’s Stanley Pines, the original Mr. Mystery and founder of the Mystery Shack.” Soos answered cheerfully.  

“He kinda looks like a goblin to me...” The girl responded, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at the stone replica of Stan.

“Oh I can assure you that there is nothing supernatural about Stanley Pines,” Melody interjected with a mischievous smile. “However, I would like you to tell anyone who asks that Stanley Pines is human: ‘If you sit in the driver’s seat of a car that isn’t your own and you say his name three times he absolutely _won’t_ appear and try to scam money off you.’”

“What?” The girl gasped. “You mean a bit like if you say ‘Bloody Mary’ in front of a mirror three times she turns up?”

“That’s right, but not like that because it wouldn’t work with Stanley. I don’t know where these rumours are coming from.”

“Come on, let’s go grab some ice cream from the freezer.” The boy said, pointing at the large cooler near the check-out counter. The two youngsters scurried away from the statue. Pacifica could hear them whispering about Stanley Pines; the goblin man.

“You sure you don’t want to run tours?” Soos asked Melody as he grabbed a small rag from his pocket and began to polish the Stan doppleganger. “Mr. Pines would have loved a story like that. He once told me, ‘Being loved by the youth is overrated. Being feared, now that’s priceless.’”

A shade of pink arose in Melody’s cheeks by her boyfriend’s compliment before chuckling at his latest anecdote about his beloved father-figure. “Perhaps in the future Soos, but for now, I’m happy in a more supporting role.” She told him.

Fiddleford strode over to the closet and retrieved a red metal toolbox. “Ya need me ta take a looksie at the golf cart before the afternoon tour?” The old handyman asked.

“Sure dude!” Soos answered. “That vehicle has been on the skids for quite sometime, so don’t be discouraged if it starts acting up.”

“There’s no need ta fret Mr. Mystery, I can fix ‘er up real well without any hesitation!” Fiddleford chirped. Before heading outside, he glided over towards Pacifica and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “If ya need me fer any reason at all, feel free ta come outside an’ let me know, okay?” He informed her while giving her a reassuring smile.

Pacifica, touched by the old southerner’s concern, smiled back. “Sure thing Fiddleford.”      

McGucket was relieved to know that she wasn’t afraid to call on him for anything. Even though his job preoccupied his time, he placed Pacifica’s safety and well-being above his part-time position. He called Soos the previous night about bringing Pacifica to the Mystery Shack. Fiddleford was fortunate to be employed by the portly man, who was very understanding about the delicate nature of the girl’s situation. The eccentric gave a couple of light pats on Pacifica’s back and proceeded to complete his task out in the front yard.

The blonde teenager’s smile swiftly changed to a small frown. She didn’t want to feel like dead weight towards Soos and Melody, who were already preoccupied with taking care of the gift shop. If Pacifica wanted to feel useful, she needed to pitch in and complete some of the small chores around the Mystery Shack. She turned around and approached Soos.  

“Is there anything you need help with?” Pacifica asked the young manager.

“Hmm…” Soos hummed in thought, rubbing the few hairs glued to his chin. “I don't wanna overload you with too much work since you're not an employee and I don't want us to get into major trouble for breaking child labor laws….I guess you could sweep the floor. Let me grab you the broom for you dude.” The portly young man swiftly approached the utility closet and grabbed an old broom along with a plastic dust pan.

“I gotta go do another tour dude,” He told Pacifica as he handed the broom and pan over. “If you get bored, you can stop. You can take a break, have a look around or join the tour any time you like.”

“I’ll be fine thanks,” Pacifica told him.

She fixed her grip on the broom, trying to look for any small specks of trash tarnishing the floor. Finding a small bits of dirt on the ground, the young teen got straight to sweeping the floors. Gathering any litter on the floor, she collected the filth before pushing it into the small plastic dust pan and discarding it into the trash can. It took Pacifica approximately five minutes to sweep around the gift shop, but she made certain that the floorboards looked pristine.

Then, not wanting to bother Soos or Melody with any questions, she decided to take it upon herself to organize the items on display.  

Unbeknownst to Pacifica, Melody observed the girl as she went straight from one chore to the next. Although the bubbly cashier appreciated the Northwest girl’s help, she was concerned by how lonely the blonde looked. When there was a lull in business, Melody decided to take it upon herself to try and make Pacifica feel more at ease in the Shack’s gift shop.

“So Pacifica,” The lady spoke as she headed over to the boombox by the corner. “I’m gonna turn on the radio. Is there any station you like listening to the most?”

Pacifica stopped to think momentarily. “I usually listen to the Top 40 station.”

“Hey, so do I!” Melody happily replied. She changed the stations until she heard harmonious voices of _Several Timez_. “From what Soos told me, the members of _Several Timez_ actually live in the nearby woods. They come around taking food from the garbage at the Shack believe it or not.”

Pacifica found herself laughing at the last tidbit. “They actually stayed over at the Mystery Shack during Weirdmageddon.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, and they even operated the Shacktron’s fuel during the rescue mission! It’s pretty wild seeing them in the weird side of Gravity Falls when it was just a couple months ago that I saw them in concert. I swear, this town has a strange, but powerful hold over people.”

“Ain't that the truth.” Melody agreed. “Although it’s the people here who really give Gravity Falls so much of its charm.”

“True.” Pacifica said. The blonde was about to continue fix the keychain counter when she remembered that Melody was an out-of-towner and the reason why she moved here was due to Soos and his job offering at the Mystery Shack. One question formed in her mind that needed to be addressed.

“So how exactly did you meet Soos, if you don’t mind me asking.” Pacifica inquired.

“It’s the most unusual story, but it’s worth telling.” Melody began. “So I stayed at my friend’s place a couple months. And since I needed some cash before returning to my folk’s place in Portland, I decided to work at the Meat Cute vendor over at the mall. And one day, just when I finished up my shift, I saw this young man laughing joyfully as he rode on a tiny train. I thought it was super funny, but in a sweet and endearing way.”

“Let me guess, Soos?” Pacifica jokingly interjected.

“The one and only.” Melody answered with a smile. “So we were chatting it up, and having a pleasant time when we decided to go out to eat over at _Hoo-Haw’s Pizzamatronic Jamboree_ later that evening. The first half of our date went smooth, just the two of us joking around, but then things got a little wacky…”

Pacifica perked up her ears when the older woman started getting into details. The blonde knew that the weirdness in Gravity Falls was mostly contained in the woods, with a few exceptions. But never in her life had there been a supernatural occurrence over at the mall.

“The lights started to flicker and the television screens were flashing images of some creepy yandere anime girl, and then she somehow managed to possess the _Hoo Haw_ animatronics. Turns out that Soos used a dating simulator as a way to prepare himself for real-life dating, but the game was actually sentient and was stalking him. She then trapped the two of us inside Hoo Haw’s, along with his two younger friends, Dipper and Mabel.”

Pacifica’s mouth upon hearing that the young Pines twins were involved. “How did you guys manage to escape?”

“Well Soos and I were able to fight off the animatronics. Dipper and Mabel also helped out, even though I had some concerns about the kids getting into danger. But yeah, the four of us defeated the animatronics and Soos was able to destroy the game. By the end of the evening, we both realized how _Hoo Haw’s_ was not as fun as we remembered it to be, but it marked the beginning of our awesome relationship.”

“Evil computers and animatronic animals? It doesn’t sound like a typical first. It sounds like something straight out of a computer horror game.”

“I know, right? Still they say you really get to know someone when bad stuff happens and when the chips are down Soos tries to be a hero. He’s my knight in shining armor.”

Before Pacifica could reply Soos walked in, followed by a group of tourists. He looked around at the reorganised gift shop and beamed at Pacifica.

“Thanks for your help dude.” Soos said. “This place looks awesome!”

“Oh, sure thing, Soos.” Pacifica replied, still not used to receiving positive feedback from the adult figures in her life. “Is there anything else you need me to do?’

“Everything’s pretty much all set.” Melody answered. “Business is a bit slow before noon, but I’ll give you a holler if I need an extra set of helping hands.”

“You’re more than welcome to chill out in the living room if you like dawg.” Soos suggested. “You can watch TV or read through the pile of magazines we have on the table. There’s a lot of _Gold Chains for Old Men_ magazines that Mr. Pines left so if you want to take any, just help yourself.”

Pacifica nodded out of politeness but was sure that _Gold Chains for Old Men_ wasn’t really aimed at adolescent girls.

“Thanks you two.” She appreciated with sincerity.

“Sure thing!” Melody responded. Soos gave a couple positive nods at Pacifica.

The girl left the gift shop and headed for the living room. Once she arrived at the familiar room, she stopped in her tracks and observed some of the subtle changes made to the interior design since the Ramirez family moved in. The walls had been repainted a light green colour and the curtains were open, allowing the sunshine to illuminate the room, thus giving it a more homey feeling. There were two additional leather couches right alongside the plaid armchair. The tattered, but colorful _Take Back the Falls_ flag proudly showcased itself on the living room wall, right above the television set.

Overall the room felt more welcoming and friendly than when she’d been living in the Shack during Weirdmageddon. Not everything had changed though. The skull was still next to the main chair, the large pink doily still covering the top. Pacifica could also see the axolotl swimming around around its large fish tank as usual, even if the tank looked cleaner than the last time she’d seen it.

She liked the changes that had been made to the Shack.

Pacifica made her way over to the chair in front of the TV and sat down. Grabbing the remote control, she turned on the television and flipped through the channels. Sure she knew that there was nothing good on television during the morning hours, but she needed a mindless distraction. After going through channels filled with nothing but tacky infomercials and overly-gossipy talk shows, she landed on the Used To Be About History Channel airing a rerun of _Ghost Harassers_.

Pacifica remembered buying the first season of the paranormal show for Dipper a couple days before his and Mabel’s thirteenth birthday party. She purchased the DVD set more so as a token from the night they encountered the Lumberjack Ghost during Northwest Fest, similarly to the pink mini-golf club for Mabel reflected their bonding during their so-called ‘Golf War’. She remembered how joyful the twins looked upon receiving their respective gifts after unwrapping them. Pacifica may have broke a nail while shrouding the presents with cheap wrapping paper, but it was well worth it.

“Might as well figure out why Dipper loves this show so much.” Pacifica said to herself, turning up the volume with the remote.

\-----------------------------------------

A whole hour later, Pacifica was still on the same channel, watching the ghost hunting show. Sure the methods they used were questionable, but she had to give the show credit for its haunting atmosphere and the chemistry between the harassers. She was so invested in the program that she barely heard the soft footsteps that approached the living room entrance. When the show cut to commercials, the blonde turned to her left and noticed an elderly woman standing near the doorway. Right off the bat, Pacifica figured that she was Soos’s grandmother.

“Hello Pacifica.” She warmly greeted. The older lady had an aura of kindness to her.

“Hello.” The young girl returned. She quickly turned off the TV with the remote.

“We have lunch all ready in the kitchen. Soos and the others are waiting for you.”

“Thanks for letting me know.” Pacifica said as she got up from the couch and followed Soo’s Abuelita into the kitchen.

“Of course.” The elderly woman softly replied.

When they arrived in the kitchen, Pacifica noticed that Soos, Melody, and Fiddleford were already seated around the table. “Lunch break, little dude,” Soos told her. He gestured to a spare chair and a plate containing two quesadilla slices. There was also large bowl of pasta salad. “Help yourself.”

Pacifica sat down and piled up her plate with food. Before she started eating however, Soos and Fiddleford both closed their eyes and clasped their hands as if in prayer as they said, “ _Itadakimasu!"_ The duo then proceeded to feast on their savory quesadillas started eating as if nothing had happened.

“It’s Japanese for ‘I humbly receive,’” Melody informed Pacifica when she saw the confused look on her face. “They watch a lot of anime together and it kind of rubs off on them.”

“Yes, _que ama a sus espectáculos de anime_.” Mrs. Ramirez quietly commented on her grandson’s hobby.

“The three of us have our anime nights where we binge watch a ton of shows. Soos and I host it at the Shack on Tuesdays while Fiddleford holds it at his place on Thursdays.”

Pacifica nodded as Melody explained, quite intrigued with the topic at hand.

“Last week we tried a different Japanese food every day. It was fun. They’re even thinking of adding a _Otoroshi_ as an attraction.”

“An Otor-what?” Pacifica inquired Melody with great intrigue. Fiddleford and Soos started talk over their upcoming events at the Mystery Shack while they ate.

“ _Otoroshi_ ,” Melody repeated. “They come from Japanese folklore. Apparently, they live in holy shrines and they devour the wicked.”

“We’re still working on that.” Soos excitedly chimed in.

Fiddleford swallowed the small bite of cheese quesadilla before speaking up. “Yep, we’re halfway through the process of buildin’ the _Otoroshi,_ but we should be finished come early October!”

“That’s awesome!” Pacifica spoke excitedly.

“Oh! I should show ya the other creatures I’ve worked on in the museum after closin’ time. Wouldja be interested in that dear?”

“I’d love to!” Pacifica said enthusiastically. “So are the other monsters on display based on the creatures in Gravity Falls or are they mostly made up?”

“With the exception of the Gobblewonker and Wax Larry King, they’re either taken from mythology or completely made up.” Soos answered. “Dipper tried displaying a real monster in the Mystery Shack when Mabel was temporarily running shop over the summer, but it only scared our customers away. We eventually learned that having fake monsters are beneficial not only for business, but it would be respecting the creatures of Gravity Falls. The last thing I’d want is to capitalize on their exploitation and taking advantage of them of personal gain. Though the gnomes sometimes like popping over to jump out at the visitors. They think it’s funny.”

Pacifica nodded, finally understanding the real reasons behind the tourist trap’s phony exhibits. What better way to protect Gravity Fall’s supernatural residents from prying outside eyes than than to have a museum full of phony ones. Visitors would probably assume that everything else were hoaxes and rumors created to fuel business for the Mystery Shack.

“In regards to the _Otoroshi,_ had I read on that a few months ago, I would have thought they were something made up by parents to frighten their children into behaving. But ever since I moved into this town, I wonder if creatures like that are real. It’s been really interesting reading about mythological creatures ever since I found out some of them exist.”

“Yeah, I’ve recently been wondering how many monster stories are based on fact myself.” Pacifica told her. “I’d love to find out.”

“You could always ask some of the supernatural creatures that are living in Fiddleford’s manor at the mom-” Melody started to say and then stopped herself. She immediately felt guilty for crossing into sensitive territory. “Oh sorry. That was your home until recently, wasn’t it? I haven’t put my foot in it have I?”

“No, it’s fine,” Pacifica reassured her. “I’m glad Fiddleford moved in. He’s made the place feel more like a home than it ever did while my family owned it.” She grimaced. After taking a deep breath, Pacifica decided to return to their original conversation at hand.

“So Melody, what kind of mythical creatures were you fascinated growing up?”

The young lady mused for a few moments before speaking up. “How familiar are you with gargoyles?”

The rest of the meal passed pleasantly.

\-----------------------------------------

After lunch, Pacifica thanked Soos’s Abuelita for the food. Soos and Melody mentioned to the girl that she could still hang out in the living room if she wanted to.

The friendly grandmother asked the girl if she wanted to join her in watching the afternoon telenovelas. Pacifica decided to give it a try, since she didn't want to reject Soos’s Abuelita after how hospitable she was.

Over the next hour, Pacifica was engaged by Mrs. Ramirez’s program of choice;  _Jardín de Engaño._ Pacifica had previously studied Spanish at her old boarding school, but she did not master fluency in the language. Most of the time, she used her knowledge to decipher the dialogue, but she was able to get the gist of the show’s plot from the character’s gesticulations and location shots.

At one point she got completely lost when it turned out Nicolás the groundskeeper was actually Diego is disguise rather than Santiago as she’d originally thought. However, after Mrs. Ramirez had stopped shouting at the screen, she’d explained that the three were triplets, not twins, and this was the first time in seven years Diego had been in the show. He’d been in the forest when Sofia had shot him and left him for dead. Pacifica was fascinated with the show, now that the elderly woman gave her proper context.

“Hey Pacifica!” Fiddleford hollered. The young blonde turned her attention from the television towards the mechanic, who was leaning by the entryway.

“There’s a certain someone who wants ta see ya!”

Pacifica followed McGucket through the living quarters and into the gift shop. The blonde noticed Wendy Corduroy, now sporting a familiar blue pine tree hat, settling her backpack behind the counter.  

“How’s it goin’ man?” The redhead teen asked.

Pacifica returned the smile upon seeing the familiar face. “Better for being back in this crazy town.”

“Good to have you back, dude. You just disappeared on us. There was rumor going around that you’d been eaten by the Hide-Behind. Robbie suggested we hold a seance.”

“Sorry,” Pacifica said guiltily. “I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to anyone.”

“I’m just messin’ around.” Wendy laughed punching Pacifica gently on the shoulder then pulling her into a quick hug. “You’re dad paid Toby to run a story in his newspaper about how you were all leaving and how he felt sorry for us to be stuck in a town without the Northwest family.”

“Oh God.” Pacifica moaned, cringing. “Please tell me he didn’t.”

“I’m afraid he did.” Wendy made quotations on the air and put on a posh, condescending voice as she said, ‘ _Though we depart this reached town; know that we will never forget this hellhole and let it be of some comfort to know that at least one important family knows of and pities your sad little lives.”_

“Kill me now,” Pacifica said, burying her face in her hands. She didn’t want to believe that her father would have the gall and stupidity to verbally flip the bird to her beloved hometown before their departure.

Wendy noticed the blonde’s distress and immediately pulled her into a comforting side hug. “Don’t sweat it. Everyone’s parents embarrass them growing up. It’s like a rite of passage or something.”

"Yeah, but not everyone's parents publicly gives a giant f-you in the local newspaper." She replied frantically.“Do people think I agreed with him about all that stuff?” Pacifica almost dreaded the answer.

“Nah, you helped fight off Bill and you were one of the Zodiac participants. People know you’re cool.” The redhead responded in her laid-back tone.

Pacifica was dumbfounded by the latest revelation. The citizens appreciated her efforts, how little she believed they were, and favored her over her parents. “Huh. I still have to get used to the idea of people liking me without having to bribe them.”

“You do know that doesn’t really work right?” Wendy asked.

“No, but it doesn’t hurt.”

“Whatever. I don’t know how long you’re back in town for but if you’ve got time, you should totally come hang with us all for a bit and you don’t even have to bribe me for an invitation.”

“Really?” Pacifica asked enthusiastically. Wendy nodded with approval. “I’d love to!”

“Wendy,” Melody called from the counter, “I hate to interrupt but you’re shift started half an hour ago and I _really_ need the little girl’s room.”

“You got it Mrs Mystery.” Turning to Pacifica, she said, “Want to help me run the cash register?”

“I’d love to but I don’t know how,” Pacifica admitted sheepishly.

“That’s fine. I can show you. I hate working but I love showing others how to do my job instead of me.”

“Sure,” Pacifica said, following Wendy's lead.

\-----------------------------------------

Despite Melody’s concern over underage labor, Pacifica insisted that she work alongside Wendy. A few hours later, Pacifica was much more knowledgeable about the workings of the cash register. When Soos finally arrived from his last tour, he gave Wendy a slightly sour look for having Pacifica work behind the counter without his permission. Pacifica reassured him that she didn’t have anything better to do and was more than happy to assist Wendy. Soos compensated the blonde by having her take cash from the tip jar with the most money inside, which happened to belong to House Stark.

After the Mystery Shack closed its doors at 5:30, Soos, Melody and Fiddleford guided Pacifica along through the museum of weird oddities. Many of the classic creatures still remained, such as the Sascrotch, the Cornicorn, and the Jackalopes. There were also new additions to the galleria of oddities, most of which were animatronic creatures Fiddleford had built. There was the Gobblewonker that McGucket mentioned yesterday, which greatly impressed Pacifica. There were also other robotic replicas of the Abominable Bro-Man, the Geodites, the Hide-Behind, and the Ghost of Tax Season Past. Pacifica was pleasantly surprised to learn that Soos dedicated two of the recent creatures on display to the younger Pines twins: The animatronic Pterodactyl for Dipper and a statue of a vampire hottie for Mabel.   

Finally, the one living supernatural entity that was showcased was Wax Larry King. The severed head sat comfortably on a fluffed periwinkle pillow with a bowl of ‘num-nums’ on his side. Apparently the former television reporter had a desire for constant attention and a mighty need for interviewing people, so Soos and Melody agreed to let him have his own spot in the museum. Soos mentioned how the tourists believed Wax Larry King to be a ridiculously life-like special effect, so it was a win-win for everyone.

After the tour ended, Fiddleford had proudly showed her the latest attraction he was working on, which was the _Otoroshi._ It had a hideous blue face, an obtusely large nose, two long fangs that served as its only teeth, and a messy black mane that draped its whole body. The sheer size of the gigantic creature floored Pacifica. It truly was his most ambitious undertaking in terms of creating robots for the Mystery Shack.

Pacifica didn’t realize how much time had passed until she heard Tate honk his horn from outside to let them know he’d arrived. She was admittedly a little overwhelmed when everyone said goodbye to her. However, it felt nice knowing that they’d all taken time just to speak to her.

Once Pacifica and Fiddleford buckled themselves in Tate started the drive back home through the winding dirt road.

“How did the meeting go?” Pacifica nervously asked.

“It went fairly well,” Tate replied. “Though I’ll explain everything that was discussed back home.”

“Alright.” Pacifica sighed. She fiddled with her hands, afraid that he would deliver bad news.

Noting the young girl’s nervousness through the rear-view mirror, Tate decided to lighten the mood. “So how did your day at the Mystery Shack go?”

“It went well actually,” She answered. “I finally met Melody and she was really friendly, I watch some TV with Soos’s grandma and Wendy showed me how to work the cash register.”

“I’ll just bet she did.” Tata said with a small smile. “That girl would do almost anything to avoid doing a job herself. Honestly, she can take laziness to a whole other level when she wants to.”

“An’ after we closed up shop, we gave Pacifica a tour ‘round the museum.” Fiddleford added with great exuberance. “I even gave her a sneak peek of my latest robot!”

They chatted about inconsequential things all the way back to the manor but Pacifica could still feel her stomach twisting with nerves. It seemed like hours before they got back but in reality it took less than thirty minutes.

Pacifica wasn’t sure that she was ready to hear what Tate had to inform her of and, once she got out of the car, she found herself dragging her feet during the short walk to the front door.

Upon entering the manor, they were greeted by Jeff and Shmebulock. “Shmebulock!!!” The older gnome declared, looking very worried.

Fiddleford was immediately filled with concern for his supernatural friend. “What’s wrong Shmebulock?”

“We were watching the news and we found a certain story you three need to hear!” Jeff answered.

“I was actually hoping to have a talk with Pacifica before we do anything else,” Tate told them.

“ _Shmebulock!!!_ ”

“Shmebulock’s right,” Jeff rebuttled. “You’re gonna want to see this now. It relates to what’s happening.”

Fiddleford and Tate exchanged worried glances. The younger McGucket sighed, “We’re not getting any peace until we’ve watched it are we?”

“Nope!” The head gnome replied.

“Fine, but this had better not take too long.” Tate huffed.

“To the Fort!!!” Jeff declared.

“The fort?” Pacifica reiterated, giving Fiddleford a puzzled expression.

“It’s the blanket fort room!” The bearded inventor happily explained. “It’s right down this here hallway, second ta last door to tha right.”

The two gnomes led Pacifica and the McGuckets past the main lobby and down the east wing of the manor. When they arrived at the ‘fort’, Pacifica was astonished by the room’s calming ambience. She distinctly remembered this room, originally being her father’s personal work office. Though the room was mostly used for securing financial records of the many family companies; Northwest Realty, Northwest Mudflap Factory, and Northwest Weather Vanes. The blonde remembered receiving a number of stern talks and bell-ringing from her father in that very room.

Now, there were a multitude of soft, floral print blankets which were tied to small posts, serving as a roof over the room. Long wires of globe string lights illuminated the inside of the fort, giving out a gentle glow. Many fluffed-out pillows and thick comforters were scattered around the floor. Pacifica concluded that Fiddleford did a magnificent job with the interior decorations as he created a more inviting and comfortable environment.  

Inside the fort, a small group of supernatural creatures, the gnomes and the lilputtians, huddled near the television set watching _The Duchess Approves_. The small creatures glued their eyes to the screen during the Duchess’s wedding. Shmebulock grabbed the remote and paused the film, right before Count Lionel crashed the ceremony.

“Okay folks, everyone out!” Jeff called. There was a course of descent and some boos but Jeff and Shmebulock were unfazed. “Pacifica needs to see the news item we recorded earlier.”

Still grumbling, they turned off their video and left. Jeff flicked through the TV’s playback feature until he found what he was looking for and pressed play. An image of Shandra Jimenez filled the screen.

“And in other news, former Gravity Falls residents Preston and Priscilla Northwest were apprehended by Portland authorities after fleeing from a botched robbery on an illustrious elderly couple in the neighboring suburb of Happy Valley.” The TV cut to footage of Pacifica’s parents being forcefully ushered into the police vehicle.

 _"What!?"_ Pacifica shouted. Fiddleford and Tate stared at the television in shock. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Abuelita Ramirez's comment during the anime conversation translates to 'He loves his anime shows'.
> 
> -The name of the telenovela Abuelita Ramirez and Pacifica watch translates to 'Garden of Deceit'. It's not a real telenovela fyi, but Nutters really went all out on the wonderfully cheesy storyline!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After learning of her parents' arrest, Tate informs Pacifica of the advantages in her favor and her fate. She then asks a certain eccentric to become her guardian.

Pacifica, Fiddleford and Tate all had their eyes glued to the television screen. Throughout the report, there were flashing images of her parents and her aunt, who acted as an accomplice, interspersed with footage of the crime scene. There were also brief interviews with the elderly couple who was robbed. An official from the the Portland police discussed how Preston and Priscilla were caught as well as possible motivations of their crime.

“The Northwest couple will also face charges of neglect and child abuse of their daughter, Pacifica. When questioned, the police discovered from neighbors that nobody has seen Pacifica in weeks. When the house was searched, no sign of Pacifica was found. No missing persons report was filed. As of now, the two Northwests their criminal collaborator are held without bail at the Multnomah County Inverness Jail. No official word has been released on when they will face trial.”

The screen returned to the respected news anchorwoman sitting at her desk. “And anyone who has any information regarding the whereabouts of Pacifica Northwest should immediately contact the authorities.” Shandra concluded her report. An image of Pacifica appeared on the screen, with the phrase _Pray for Pacifica_ in white lettering placed right below.

“Now, for some hopefully uplifting news, here’s Bodacious T with the latest details on sports.”

The screen transitioned to the reporter formerly known as Toby Determined, still wearing his punk attire and blue mohawk. “Thank you Shandra. Today in the world of local sports, many athletic hopefuls are fiercely practicing on the hills of Gravity Falls in preparation for the Twentieth Annual Downhill Port-a-Potty Derby...”  An unusual image of two young people happily riding green plastic port-a-potties down a grassy hill appeared near the right hand corner of the screen.

Jeff grabbed the remote and turned off the television. They exchanged worried glances at each other before the gnome leader spoke up. “Shmebulock and I are gonna go play _Don’t Wake Stalin_ with the boys, so we’ll be out in the living room if you need us.”

“Shmebulock.” The scraggly gnome said solemnly as he and his compatriot started walking.

The gnomes made their exit as they left the three humans to let the latest developments sink in. Pacifica, Fiddleford and Tate stood speechless at the unexpected news story.

So many emotions bubbled within the young Northwest, she didn’t know how to react to the sudden news.

She was shocked that her parents didn’t even bother to report her absence to the police. Perhaps they were so preoccupied with their scheme that they couldn’t waste a single moment. It also surprised her that the police seemed to think she’d been missing for so long. However, since she’d been as good as living under house arrest, maybe it wasn’t that surprising. She bet her father was regretting not letting her outside more often now.

Pacifica also felt glad at seeing her parents fall from their high horse. For far too long, her familial predecessors had gotten away with various crimes and misdeeds. The girl was also relieved that her parents were too preoccupied with their own petty scheme to report their daughter’s disappearance. She no longer had to worry about her mother and father snatching her away and dragging her out of Gravity Falls.  

“So Pacifica, I’ll give you the details about the meeting I had earlier today.” The blonde heard Tate’s voice and immediately gave him her attention. She gave him a serious nod as she was ready to listen.

“I showed the CPS worker the all of the evidence you accumulated and she believes that it’s more than enough proof that will aid your case when you take it to court. Plus, with that news report, I can’t see your parents getting away with this.” Pacifica smiled in relief but it dropped as Tate continued. “However, she informed me that according to Oregon law, a minor must be sixteen years of age to seek an order of emancipation from the court.”

Pacifica’s stomach dropped. She was only thirteen years old, and there was no way she could possibly wait another three years to be legally eligible for emancipation. _There has to be another way to legally remove myself from my parents’ grip!_

“Luckily, she also perused through your parents’ legal history and discovered how your father spent a large portion of his money on aiding Bill’s reign of terror, which was a huge red flag in her book as a Gravity Falls native. Along with the evidence of employing means of mental and emotional abuse on you as well as hiring outsiders to physically harm you into obeying your parents, she concluded that the best way to break ties with your parents is to report your case to the police and child services. No one would force you to live with them again after what they’ve done but, if someone isn’t willing to become your guardian, you’ll probably end up living in an orphanage or a foster home.”

Pacifica felt a surge of relief as she listened to Tate’s explanation. She had the upper hand in terms of presenting hard evidence, and since her parents were also arrested for theft and neglect, there was a slim chance that they would have her back in their custody. When Tate brought up finding a suitable guardian, Pacifica automatically knew the person for the job.

“Actually...I was kind of hoping that I could petition Fiddleford as my guardian.”

Both McGuckets stared in amazement at Pacifica, Fiddleford was wide-eyed with shock at her suggestion. She decided to explain her reasoning to them.

“Fiddleford.....you approached me during Weirdmageddon, back when I was alone and at my most vulnerable, and you did what my parents failed to do. You cared for me, protected me, taught me useful survival skills, and made me feel like I was someone of worth! I wouldn’t have had the confidence to leave my parents if it wasn’t for you.” She felt herself trembling as she spoke, but it was hard for her to stay composed. “I know that I could never return the favor and I already owe you so much… but there’s no one else who would care enough about me to even consider such a commitment. It’s fine if I’m asking too much though. I’d understand completely and living in care is way better than living with my parents anyway so it’s not like I won’t be better off no matter what you say.”

Her breath hitched as two tears prickled her eyes. Pacifica immediately wiped them away with her fingers. Before she could continue, Fiddleford wrapped his arms around her frame and pulled her into a protective hug.

“Pacifica…” He softly whispered. “When I said that you can visit me fer anythin’, I meant it. An’ if you want me ta be yer guardian, then I’ll go through the whole process ta make that happen.”

Hearing the eccentric’s solemn vow was all it took for the young girl to release the tears she desperately fought to hold back.

Pacifica buried her face into Fiddleford’s shirt, finally allowing herself to cry. All of her fears and uncertainties that weighed her down for so long were finally lifted off her shoulders. She found herself in the arms of someone who cared, and it felt wonderful. Fiddleford gently rubbed her back in an effort to console her while softly whispering assurances. “Things will turn out alright in the end, I reckon.” He said in a hushed tone. “We just hafta take this one step at a time.” Pacifica nodded as she soaked the inventor’s shirt with her tears.

Tate looked on with concern and hesitancy. He genuinely cared for his father and the Northwest girl he came to know. But he couldn’t fight off the sense of uneasiness that formed inside his stomach. Even though Fiddleford made tremendous improvements in regards to adjusting with his mental health, part of him was worried that his father might revert back to his old, harmful habits and accidentally hurt Pacifica as a result.

There was also the fact that his father wasn’t a young man anymore. Despite being a ball of energy most of the time, there was no pretending that Fiddleford wasn’t old. Tate worried that even if his father didn’t relapse into bad habits the job of being guardian to a teenager would still prove too much.

Tate’s musings were interrupted by a loud buzzing from his front pocket. He pulled out his phone  and checked the caller ID. “It’s Dana. I think she caught the news as well.” He told Fiddleford and Pacifica as flipped out his the phone and answered the call. “Hey….Yeah, I just watched it on the news station…..”

While Tate was conversing, Pacifica slowly released herself from the hug and wiped away the tears from her face. “I’m sorry,” She apologized, feeling a bit embarrassed from her outburst. “I must gotten carried away…”

“Aw hush,” Fiddleford lightly dismissed, waving his right hand downwards. “You shouldn’t hafta apologize fer expressin’ yer emotions. It’s perfectly normal ta shed a few tears, especially after goin’ through so much turmoil.”

“I really can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done.” She said with gratitude.

“Yer most certainly welcome Pacifica.” He replied. Fiddleford noticed how Pacifica’s eyes were sadly downcast. Seeing her so fretful deeply worried the eccentric, as it reminded him of his bouts of anxiety, especially during his younger years. In order to comfort Pacifica, Fiddleford placed one hand softly on her shoulder and stretched out the other one, gently lifting her chin up. “I understand how scared an’ anxious ya are darlin’. But please don't think that yer a burden, cause yer not. If anythin’, yer a blessin’ in my eyes. Pacifica, you are a wonderful, clever, an’ courageous young lady who deserves ta be loved an’ cared fer in a safe an’ comfortable environment.”  

Pacifica sadly smiled at Fiddleford as one last teardrop escaped, but the southerner used his thumb to wipe it away from her cheek.

“Okay, sounds good...I’ll let them know...Yep, see you tomorrow.” Tate replied before flipping his phone back and putting it away in his pocket. “Dad, Pacifica.”

Pacifica and Fiddleford turned to face the younger McGucket. “The social worker called and she wants to meet with us tomorrow over at Greasy’s Diner to discuss further details about the legal process and how she can assist you. Would you be up for speaking with her in person Pacifica?”

“I’ll do it.” Pacifica confirmed. The young teen felt determined to take further action in severing her ties with her parents and getting Fiddleford to become her legal guardian. “Thank you again for contacting CPS and having them inspect the evidence I brought.”

“Hey, it’s no problem. I’m happy to help you out.” The younger McGucket said, giving Pacifica a gentle smile. The girl was glad that he and his father didn't mind helping. She then remembered a key detail from the news report that needed to be addressed. “So should one of us inform the Gravity Falls Police Department that I’m in town? I mean, I wouldn't want you two to get into any legal troubles by withholding info about my arrival here.”

“Of course Pacifica!” Fiddleford agreed. “I’ll make the phone call ASAP!”

The heartfelt moment was brought to a halt when the Hand Witch and Matt appeared by the doorway. “Hello everyone.” The elderly hag greeted, she even gave Pacifica a friendly smile. “I wanted to let you all know that we ordered Chinese food for everyone, our treat!”

“Aww, why thank you fellers!” Fiddleford responded. “So Tater-Tot, Pacifica, does havin’ Chinese food fer dinner sound alright?”

“Sure.” Tate answered.

“Sounds good.” Pacifica added.

“Great! I’ll go set up the table in the dinin’ room after I make that phone call ta the police.”

Pacifica quickly followed Fiddleford. “I’ll help.” She offered.

“Ya sure? Don’cha wanna veg out fer a bit?”

“I’m certain.” Pacifica insisted. “I can relax after dinner.”

“Alrighty.” Fiddleford reaffirmed as they stepped into the kitchen. “I’ll show ya where the plates an’ the silverware are at, an’ whatnot.”

The old eccentric took the wooden step-stool and placed it near counter. “Ya see that top drawer down yonder?” He asked the girl while pointing at the wooden cabinets on the other side of the kitchen.

“Yeah.” Pacifica answered as she walked towards the specific drawer.

“I need ya ta get six regular forks an’ knives as well as twenty tiny ones. You’ll know which ones are which when ya see ‘em.”

Pacifica opened up the drawer to find a wooden utility organizer with the standard sized silverware as well as small finger-sized plastic cutlery. The girl knew that her parents once owned dozens of utensils that ranged in all different types. She recalled how she received lessons from her parents on properly associating each specific utensil to its appropriate meal. But now seeing the normal cutlery, with the exception of the gnome-friendly ones, Pacifica was grateful how lax the McGuckets were when it came to silverware.

Meanwhile, Fiddleford carefully stepped on the stool, he opened the white cabinets and retrieved seven white plates. After gingerly putting them on the counter, he grabbed the pink plastic ‘doll size’ plates for the gnomes and lilputtians. He stacked the smaller plates upon the regular ones and began to exit the kitchen with Pacifica following behind.

“Once we put everythin’ on the table, you can set the plates an’ utensils up.” Fiddleford instructed. I’ll give the gnomes a holler an’ they’ll give ya a hand. Then I’ll inform the police that yer alive an’ well in Gravity Falls.”

“Sounds good.” Pacifica replied, setting the cutlery on the table. She immediately began the task by separating the tiny plates from normal ones. Pacifica started out with the humans’ plates since there were a small number of them. The chore was simple as Pacifica aligned a plate to each seat and placed a fork and knife on opposite sides of the plate. Upon finishing the regular plates, the Northwest girl saw that the gnomes and lilputtians were already helping themselves to their own plates and utensils.

When the small creatures noticed Pacifica staring at them, they stopped collecting their things and organized themselves into a group huddle. The little men and anthropomorphic golfballs whispered among themselves for a few moments. Once they finished their talk, Jeff, Shmebulock and Betty stepped forward from group with the intention of speaking with Pacifica. She could sense their nervousness as the three awkwardly looked at each other.

But Shmebulock was the first to boldly break the ice. “Shmebulock.” He spoke seriously.

“Shmebulock’s right.” Betty spoke up. “Pacifica, we can't imagine how hard things are for you, but we want to let you know that we’ve got your back.....well figuratively speaking, not literally. Cause that would be super weird if it was-” However Betty’s rambling was cut when Shmebulock slapped his hand over the younger gnome’s mouth.

“And if you want us to help you out with anything just let us know.” Jeff offered. “The last thing we wanna do is make you feel uncomfortable.”

Despite the awkward approach, Pacifica couldn't help but smile at the gnomes and their attempt to alleviate her woes. She was happy to know that they cared.

“Thanks you guys.” She replied. “I appreciate the sentiment.”

The gnomes seemed to be relieved that their effort to reach to the Northwest girl was successful. “Sure thing.” Jeff assured to her. Shmebulock and Betty smiled at the young blonde.

All of a sudden, the dining room door swung open, startling Pacifica and little supernatural beings. Fortunately, Fiddleford revealed himself and happily walked towards the group.

“Shmebulock!!” Shmebulock cheered.

“So Pacifica, I just notified Blubs and Durland of how ya arrived in Gravity Falls an’ that ya taken shelter at my shed.” Fiddleford informed. “They’ll swing by in a few ta see how yer holdin’ up, an’ maybe ask ya some questions.”

“Alright.” Pacifica responded, trying to conceal her discomfort at the thought of being interrogated by the police.

But Fiddleford noticed the uneasiness in Pacifica’s eyes. So he decided to switch to a more decent topic to make her feel less uncomfortable. “But I hafta admit, the table looks great! Thanks fer helpin’ out Pacifica.”

The Northwest girl glanced over at the dinner table and back at Fiddleford’s beaming face. Pacifica was well aware that the task he had given her wasn’t daunting or difficult by any means. However, the old man’s compliment on her work bolstered her self-esteem. She wouldn’t admit it but she enjoyed working with her bare hands. While she was living under her parents’ grip, that method of work was frowned upon. To them, it was nothing more than ‘commoner drudgery’. Even she once believed in that shallow-minded philosophy. But her experiences with the Pines twins and surviving the apocalypse, she didn’t mind dirtying her hands if it meant helping others. When she concentrated on a task, Pacifica also felt more relaxed. She even found hands-on work something on her own made her feel like a better person, someone who was capable. It was the first time in a long while her efforts at being useful had earned her positive feedback.

“You’re welcome.” She said sincerely. “And if you need any extra help around here, I’m more than up for the job.”  

“Of course sugar cube.” Fiddleford responded sweetly, putting a gentle hand on Pacifica’s head and lovingly tousling her hair.

The doorbell rang throughout the mansion. In the hallway connecting to the main room, the Hand Witch and Matt frantically ran to the front door while carrying large and heavy brown bags. The two sprinted past Tate while making sure not to bump into him. As he watched the lovers run straight towards the door, the younger McGucket was curious by the unusual sight and slowly followed their path.

When the joyful couple answered the door, they saw a young woman with black hair holding a large brown paper bag. “Is this the McGucket residence?” She asked politely.

“Why yes it is dear.” The Hand Witch answered as she presented the delivery lady with the brown sacks. “Does your business accept large bags of gold as payment?”

The delivery lady gazed perplexedly at the Hand Witch’s inquiry as well the large sacks filled with her outdated currency.

“Please forgive us.” Tate interrupted, scooting himself past the unusual couple to speak with the restaurant worker. “I have cash on me, so don't worry,” He took out his wallet and grabbed a handful of bills. “So how much was it?”

“Oh! Uh, $24.85 sir.” The now confused woman answered.

“Okay, here’s thirty dollars.” Tate responded, giving the employee a twenty and a ten. The woman handed the bag filled with food over to Tate. “You can keep the change. Thank you and have a good night.”

“Oh, thank you. Enjoy your meal.” She replied, trying to make sense of the quirky customers.

Matt shut the door as the Hand Witch approached Tate, who started to make his way towards the dining room. “So I guess gold isn't a valid form of currency in the United States anymore, is it?” She asked sheepishly while scratching the back of her head.

The younger McGucket sighed. “Look, I don't know how long you’ve been living up in that old cave of yours, but my best bet for you is to sell your gold in exchange for cash. I could even help you and your boyfriend find a bank where you can set up an account to store your money in if you’d like.”

“You may have a point there.” She said in defeat, but a smile soon appeared on her face. “But the Hand Witch appreciates your suggestions.”

“How long have you lived in Gravity Falls, Sweetums?” Matt asked the Hand Witch as the three of them headed for the kitchen.

“Just over thirty years!” She answered with a chuckle. “The Hand Witch used to be a palm reader in a traveling carnival but something about this place just made the Hand Witch want to stay.”

“I know what makes me want to stay here,” Matt said with a dopey loving grin on his face. The happy-go-lucky man swiftly, but gently locked hands with the bizarre lady he so dearly loved.

“Oooohh! The Hand Witch likes!” She giggled gleefully while passionately staring at the object of her affections. Within seconds the Hand Witch moved closer to her boyfriend and gave him a warm hug.

Tate was lucky to have his brown hair shield half of his face since he rolled his eyes at being the third wheel yet again. In the weeks since the Hand Witch and Matt took refuge at the manor, Tate got along well with the odd couple. But despite his enjoyment of being in their company, though he enjoyed being in the company of the bizarre old lady and the happy-go-lucky young man, their grade school-esque displays (although cute at times) was a little too much for the stoic man to take.

When the three entered the dining room, they were happily greeted by Fiddleford and Pacifica as well as receiving applause from the gnomes and lilputtians. Tate set the brown bag on the table and one by one took out the small white boxes that contained everyone’s meal. Once the brown bag was empty, they all started helping themselves to food. But the toll of the doorbell brought the scene to a silent halt.

“I’ll answer it.” Fiddleford addressed as he got up from his chair. The eccentric broke out into a sprint on all fours and dashed out of the dining room.

Pacifica stared quizzically at McGucket as he reverted back into his feral habit. But she soon remembered back to Weirdmaggedon and the instances in which Fiddleford displayed animal-like behavior. She assumed he adopted those traits after years of homelessness. Pacifica then realized that old habits were hard to break.

“Has he been acting that way a lot since he lived here?” Pacifica inquired.

“Sometimes,” Tate told her, “but only in the privacy of his own home. Dad has made a lot of improvements with expressing his more appropriate quirks in public and not unintentionally scaring people off. And in all honesty, I’m proud of him for his efforts. But I learned that there are some habits that he might never shake off.”

Pacifica sighed as she let that information sink in.

“But the important thing is that he’s been putting his energy to make positive changes in his social interactions and appearance.” Tate added. “And he has plenty of people who are there to help him out.” The younger McGucket gave the girl a small, genuine smile.

Pacifica knew right then and there that Tate was referring to her as a member of Fiddleford’s support team. Her face swelled with joy that the serious man included her.

Her attention was shifted to the heavy footsteps from down the hall, gradually getting louder with each step. She was momentarily relieved when Fiddleford happily entering the dining room. However as Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland followed him in, she immediately felt back on edge. Pacifica didn’t know whether or not they were going to put her through an interrogation or arrest Fiddleford for not informing them of her appearance earlier. All of those negative predictions swirled through her worried mind that she was shocked upon seeing beaming grins plastered on Blubs and Durland.

“Pacifica! You’re okay!” Durland squealed in delight.

“It’s good to see you back in town.” Blubs said with sincerity. “Now how are you feeling?”

 _Huh, I almost forgot how comedically incompetent the cops are around here._ Pacifica mused. _At least they’re decent people who mean well._

“I’m feeling better now that I’m back in Gravity Falls.” She humbly replied.

“We heard there was a seach out for you,” Blubs told her, “It’s a good thing Fiddelford found you cos’ we’ve never been very good at finding things.”

“I had to sell my car because I lost the keys,” Durland informed them. “I bought a scooter instead but I lost the key to the bike lock so now Sheriff Blubs has to drive me everywhere.”

“Deputy Durland you know any car journey with you is a joyous occasion.” Blubs suddenly seemed to remember where he were and turned back to Pacifica. “Were you kidnaped?”

“No!” Pacifica blurted rather quickly, she was startled by the sudden turn in the conversation. “I ran away from my aunt’s place. I took the bus over from Portland and came to Gravity Falls with the intention of  looking for Fiddleford.”

“Oh well that’s okay,” Blubs said. The officer quickly recalled the days he spend inside the shack during Weirdmageddon and how Pacifica was almost always with the old inventor. He even remembered the girl standing by his side immediately after the horrific event ended. Blubs was unable to deny the bond those two formed that helped them get through that nightmarish week. But the officer continued with the interrogation. “I thought maybe your parents were hiding you somewhere and they were planning on saying you’d been kidnaped so they could get ransom money off people.”

“I saw that on a soap opera once!” Durland said exuberantly.

“But…but how would they get money that way?” Pacifica asked, rather confused by the assumed set-up. “Surely anyone who kidnaped me would ask my parents for money not anyone else.”

“I…” Blubs stayed, then he stopped in confusion, “Hmm I don’t know. How would that work Deputy Durland?”

“They ask the community for money.”

“Oh, yes I remember now.”

“I wasn’t kidnaped.” She interrupted. “I ran away from my parents because they I didn’t want to live with them anymore.”

“Okay, we’ll make our report and inform the people that you’re safe and sound,” Blubs told her. “Fiddleford has told us you’ll be staying with him so you should be fine. See you soon Pacifica.”

“Thank you boys for stopping by,” Fiddleford said as he led the two ‘so called’ police officers out of the kitchen and towards the front door.

“We should be the one thanking you for making the call.” Blubs said in a relaxed tone. “We weren’t busy this evening. In fact, we haven’t had a busy night shift since the beginning of September now that the crime rate plummeted. Even pie stealing has gone right down since the gnomes moved in with you.”

“Well, those fellas have been behavin’ themselves real well recently. You two stay safe now an’ have a good rest of the evenin’.”

“You two Fiddleford!” Durland replied happily. The two officers held hands on their way back to the cop car.

Fiddleford quietly closed the front door and scurried back to the dining room. Once he returned, he found an open seat between Tate and Pacifica.

“I got you a full plate ready for you.” His son informed him.

“Thank ya Tater-Tot!” Fiddleford said gratefully, giving his boy a couple soft pats on the shoulder.

As soon as he sat on his chair, he turned to Pacifica and gave her a friendly smile. The girl had a long, eventful day and he wanted her to feel comfortable within her surroundings. Pacifca returned the smile, happy to be in his company. Their dinner was spent peacefully.

* * *

A few hours later, Pacifica was getting ready for bed. She couldn’t believe how well everything was turning out so far. There were no immediate obstacles that stood in her way. It didn’t seem real. She was almost suspicious by how her plan was going too well. But being surrounded by people who genuinely cared for her made her feel more at ease.   

She finished brushing her teeth in the bathroom and was about to retreat to her bedroom. However, she could hear two distinct voices conversing in one of the rooms down the hallway. Pacifica saw that one of the rooms had the door slightly ajar, and knew that Fiddleford and Tate were talking in there. The curious girl silently tip-toed towards near the right side of the hallway and stood close to the door. She perked her ears up, closely listening to the on-going conversation.

“Well what’s on yer mind son?” Fiddleford kindly asked.

“Dad.....” Tate paused to take a deep breath. “Please don’t take this the wrong way when I say this.....but I’m not sure if you’re up for the task of taking in Pacifica.”

The shocked young blonde covered her mouth, trying her best to suppress her verbal reaction.

“ _What?!_ ” The old codger shrieked.

“L-let me explain, please.” Tate offered. Pacifica could tell how nervous the younger McGucket was approaching his father on the issue. It scarily reminded the young girl of the many times she had to explain herself whenever her father or mother gave her a stern-talking to, which mostly ended with either one of them using the bell to get her to stay in a submissive state. Fortunately for Tate, Fiddleford was a more understanding parent than Preston ever was since the old eccentric did not interrupt to yell like her father would do. Though Pacifica could empathize with Tate to a certain degree, she had no idea why he would be opposed to the idea of Fiddleford becoming her guardian.

“You’ve recently made a miraculous recovery from your memory loss, adjusting with your mental issues and you’re still capable of many things, like holding a job and keeping the house under control. And I don’t have anything against Pacifica either. She’s a good kid who’s leagues above her parents and I’m glad I’ve gotten to know her better. It’s...it’s just.....despite your recent achievements, I’m not sure that you would be up for raising a young child.”

Fiddleford was dismayed at hearing his son’s opinion on the matter. “W-what do ya mean?”

Tate took a deep breath and exhaled. Noting how frightened his father looked, the younger McGucket knew how difficult discussing his reasonings was going to be. But he needed to voice his concern anyhow. “Not only do I feel that you might be too old for the task, but I’m afraid you might accidentally put Pacifica in danger. I don’t want you to somehow revert back to your reckless behavior and unintentionally hurt her.”

Fiddleford sighed. “I know….I have been workin’ mighty hard on restrainin’ my more unusual habits around everyone. I even have all of my inventions all locked up in the lab, so there won’t be any shame bot rampages in the foreseeable future.”

“Dad, I’m aware of how much more careful around other people - as well as yourself - you’ve been recently and I’m happy you have made great progress with your self-control. But on the off chance that you do relapse, I don’t want it to affect Pacifica. She’s clearly been through enough already.” He paused unsure if he should go on but it was important that his father considered everything before legally becoming Pacifica’s guardian. With a sigh, Tate said, “I don’t want her to ever go through the same experiences I endured growing up after what happened in 1982.”

Tate cleared his throat before continuing to elaborate on his reasoning.“I know what happened back then was a long time ago, but your disappearance took a serious toll on Mom and I. At least I had Mom. Pacifica doesn’t have anyone to turn to if you relapse. It might be better for her in the long run, if she goes into care. At least she’ll be safe there.”

Pacifica suddenly remembered Fiddleford and Tate’s reunion after Weirdmageddon and what Fiddleford had apologized for. She moved closer to the door frame so she could take a closer listen.

“That summer, Mom sent me off to summer camp and she told me that she had to visit one of her family members who lived outside of California, when in actuality she was visiting Gravity Falls. Granted I didn’t know that at the time and she did keep that information away from me until I turned eighteen, but she kept that trip in secret. She wanted to know what you were up to since you haven’t called since the beginning of that January, and you always called home at least three times a week before then. But when she did find you, you were scavenging through someone’s trash can while mumbling something cryptic. And when you first saw her, she told me how you didn’t even recognize her until you lunged at her like some kind of wild animal-”

“And that was when she decided to call out.” Fiddleford finished in a guilty tone of voice. The old inventor remembered how he built a homicidal Pterodactyl-Tron that burnt a couple sections of Gravity Falls.  

“A few weeks after she picked me up from camp, she lied about what happened to you by telling me that you had mysteriously disappeared without a trace while hiking in the woods. It was devastating to hear that you were gone when I was ten. The thought of no future fishing trips of games of catch with you were difficult to comprehend at that age. I didn’t want to believe that you were gone, but the truth was hard to swallow. It was hard trying to stay normal without you Dad, and my coping methods during adolescence weren’t exactly the healthiest.”

“Oh Tate…..” Fiddleford warbled.

“I didn’t do any hard drugs back then Dad. I probably wouldn’t be here if I did.” He joked, albeit in a fairly dark manner. “No, the worst stuff I’ve gotten myself into was smoking pot and committing some minor property damage. Heck, I even joined a thrash metal band back in high school back when that genre of music was considered controversial.”

“Oh?” Fiddleford reiterated, though in a more perplexed tone.

“But it was only a phase and I grew out of it well before graduating from high school. It was my decision for doing those dumb stuff as a teen, so please don’t feel guilty for the things I have done on my own free will. But back to my first point, Mom did confess what really happened to you when I was eighteen, she and I hit a bit of a rut and that was when I decided to visit you in Gravity Falls…...you...you do remember our first reunion, don’t you Dad?”

“Of course I do Tate.” Fiddleford trembled. “I reckon it happened ‘bout twenty years ago.” The old man looked to his son for confirmation. “Right?”

Tate nodded at his father. Fiddleford felt some relief at remembering correctly, so he continued recalling the event to his son. “Ya came up ta my makeshift shed in the dump an’ I had no idea who you were, so I assumed that you were after my tools. So I started growlin’ at ya, an’ even when ya said that you were my son, I still acted feral towards ya. It wasn’t until ya started runnin’ off that it clicked, an’ I came up ta ya, attemptin’ ta act civilized an such, but you were still startled by what I became….An’ even though ya tried helpin’ me out at first an’ allowed me ta live with ya, I was too much of a nuisance fer you ta deal wit. I kept runin’ off and building dangerous stuff. An’ in all honesty, I don’t blame ya fer bein’ so upset an’ not wantin’ anythin’ ta do wit me.”

Fiddleford paused to collect himself before continuing to speak. However, tears started to form and stream down his cheeks. “I’m truly sorry fer not bein’ the father ya needed an’ deserved. An’ I’m also sorry fer not goin’ back home while I still had the chance.”

“It’s okay Dad.” Tate reassured as he got up and gave his father a well-meaning hug. “I know how hard it is to not dwell on the past.”

The bearded maverick sniffled as he held onto his son. He needed to make up for those years lost due to paranoia and self-induced insanity. Though Fiddleford and Tate ameliorate their bond as father and son, he didn’t want to repeat those same faults to another person who also needed him.

“But ya hafta understand, my past mistakes are precisely the reason why I need ta take Pacifica in.” The southerner spoke up.

“Dad…”

“I still regret hurtin’ ya the way I did. I’m glad that ya gave me a second chance ta mend our father-son relationship. I love you so much Tate an’ I am happy ta have ya in my life again. I do understand yer apprehension behind my decision.” The old inventor said as he gently released himself from the embrace. “There’s the chance that I might slip off the tracks an’ relapse, but all the mind erasing guns have been destroyed an’ you’ve been a great help wit motivatin’ me ta get back on the right track.” Fiddleford took his son’s hands into his and gave them a gentle squeeze.

“Of course Dad. I promised to stand by you and I intend on keeping it.” Tate said truthfully, squeezing his father’s hands as a way of reaffirming his vow. “I won’t turn my back on you again.”

“Good. It’s just that I don’t want ta abandon Pacifica, especially after helpin’ her out durin’ Bill’s onslaught.” Fiddleford explained. “In those few days, I managed ta be of help ta someone and she looked up ta me despite my quirky nature. After Weirdmageddon ended I promised Pacifica that I would be there fer her whenever she needed someone ta confide with. Right now she’s in need of my help, an’ I have ta fulfill my obligation ta assist her in any way I can. This poor girl, who has suffered through abuse from her folks, is in need of a loving family who’ll give her the proper affection an’ support she so dearly craves for. An’ I am more than happy ta welcome her inta the McGucket family, but we hafta do whatever we can ta legally make that happen!”

Pacifica decided now was the best time to slip to her bedroom undetected while she still had the chance. She understood where Tate was coming from in regards to his concern over his father taking her in, and she knew that she shouldn't be too upset with him. Despite his logic and wariness, Pacifica was still shocked and even a little hurt by his opposition. She thought he was underestimating his father. Maybe if he’d seen his father during Weirdmageddon he would have understood how strong his father had become.

Pacifica was still in awe over Fiddleford’s vow and his great desire to make sure she was safe. She knew that when the old man was attached to an important cause, he was determined to see it through to the end. During Weirdmageddon, he had ceaselessly worked to help the survivors at the Mystery Shack and he put all of his effort in pulling off his unusual plan to rescue Ford.

Now he was resolved to ensure that Pacifica would be safe and cared for by the McGuckets.

She finally approached her bedroom door and entered her sanctuary. Pacifica didn’t even bother flipping the lightswitch when she stepped foot in her room. It had been a long day and she found no reason to stay up any longer. The teen walked over to her mattress, pulled the covers and got into bed. As she turned off the lights, she mused to herself as she drifted off to sleep. _I can only hope that we can pull this off....._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *For those who have been keeping up with the story, thank you so much for your patience! I'll be starting Grad School in the fall, but I'll try to update the chapters as much as I can. As for the story itself, the adoption arc is going to wrap up in the next chapter so we can get to the real meat of the story: Pacifica and the McGuckets having a healthy family relationship as well fleshing out what Gravity Falls is like year round! Yay!!!
> 
> *Although there is the theory of Fiddleford divorcing his wife before he moved up to Gravity Falls, I decided to bend it a bit to fit in the context of the story.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a heads up, this chapter includes a creepy nightmare and a brief mention of blood

_Bold blackness was all Pacifica could see inside the void. There was no source of light. No way to escape._

_All of a sudden, she felt cold iron shackles locking themselves up and binding her. Pacifica winced when feeling the tight constriction of the cuffs upon her delicate wrists. The girl attempted to liberate herself, struggling to break free from the metal restraints. The more she exerted her physical strength, the sturdier her binds became. Her attempts were all for naught once she was yanked to the ground by a dominant force._

_Pacifica received a huge blow from the fall. Blood poured from what felt like a broken nose and a split lip. Her head ached from the hard impact of the ground. She was unable to wipe the blood off from her face and she cringed upon tasting its bitter metallic flavor. Pacifica looked and was momentarily blinded by the illumination shining off the long iron chains. Once her eyesight adjusted to the gleaming light of her cold restraints, she noticed that the chains formed a thin trail that led to the very people who were holding her captive. Preston and Priscilla Northwest._

_Pacifica’s eyes widened with fear upon looking at her parents towering over her, feeling small and insignificant in comparison. The domineering figures wore disappointed frowns as they callously glared down at their child. Her parents stared right through her and there was nothing Pacifica could do. The poor girl was consumed with terror and dread of the punishment that was to come._

_“Did you honestly think you could disobey us and get away with it?” Preston inquired angrily._

_“N-no!” Pacifica yelped. “I-I’m sorry that I tried to run away. I won’t do it again, I promise!”_

_Her desperate pleas were in vain as they ignored her cries for help and looked at each other before nodding. Preston then reached into the inside pocket of his well-tailored suit and pulled out the instrument of conditioning._

_Pacifica’s face contorted in horror when her father retrieved his bell. “No! Not the bell! Please father don-”_

**_RING_ **

_But the tolling of the bell clamored her hearing. She tried to move her hands so she could block out the ringing, but a swift tug of the chains prevented her from doing so._

**_RING_ **

_Pacifica was powerless to stop the ominous echoes from the brass instrument. All she could do was look upon the cruel glares from her parents._

**_RING_ **

_There was no escape from this madness._

**_RING_ **

_Pacifica screamed as loud as she could, but her cries were swallowed by the soulless resonance from the bell._

* * *

Pacifica jolted from her intense nightmare and returned to reality. Her face was wet with tears from the nightmare. Upon looking at her bedroom, she realized that the horrific dream she experienced was nothing more than a reflection of her deep fears. But even then, Pacifica needed some more reassurance.

The immense contrast from her dream to her room were alarming, but she took her time to awaken her senses. The rays of the morning sun sneaking through the curtains and brightening her room was a wonderful sight in her eyes. Pacifica looked down at her hands tightly clutching onto the soft bed sheets, immediately noticing her wrists were free from restraints. Raising her hands upon instinct, she softly rubbed her one wrist before proceeding to the other. As she inspected herself, the chirping birds reciting their morning song reached into her ears. On any other day, Pacifica wished she had a shotgun by her side so she could stop the incessant trills from those rats with wings. But right now, she welcomed the merry warbles from the Chickadees and Thrushes outside.

As she took in her surroundings Pacifica took deep slow breaths in and out, forcing herself to calm down. She was safe. Her parents couldn’t reach her here. The bell was gone. She felt her tears start to dry.

Feeling more at ease, Pacifica slowly relaxed against her mattress. The girl rolled over towards her right and grabbed her cellphone to check on the time. Pressing the small button on her smartphone, the screen read 6:50 AM in bright white text. She wanted to indulge herself with returning to sleep but she was wide awake, and it wasn’t because of the chirping birds.

The morning meeting with the CPS worker filled her with a sense of anxiety that only grew from her nightmare. _Will there be other legal barriers that would prevent Fiddleford from taking me in?_ she wondered. _What if the CPS worker is secretly prejudiced against my family and won’t help me out? What if she’s actually working undercover for my parents in an attempt to take me back in their custody?_

She tossed over to the other side of the bed to escape those thoughts only to find them following her. Although Tate assured to the blonde that the social worker would assist her through the process, she couldn’t help but feel that twinge of uncertainty that things could easily go wrong.

Pacifica groaned at the troublesome thoughts tormenting her tired mind, slapping herself on the forehead with frustration.

_Come on Pacifica, pull yourself together! Mom and Dad were apprehended by the Portland authorities yesterday and are currently in police custody. They’ve broken a boatload of laws and even if they were to hire a lawyer, they wouldn’t stand a chance in court! And even if this situation becomes complicated, I have friends who genuinely care about me and will help me out. So I shouldn’t have anything to worry over._

Finally pushing aside her negative thoughts, Pacifica got up from bed and proceeded to start the day.

After getting dressed, Pacifica strolled through the hallway and down the stairs in search for a quiet place to think. But the harmonious twangs of banjo strings brought her out of her reverie. The curious girl quietly descended the stairs and hunted for the source.

 _“No one knows what it's like_  
_To be the bad man_  
_To be the sad man_ _  
__Behind blue eyes”_

Pacifica was able to deduce that the whistley, though slightly off-key, singing belonged to none other than Fiddleford McGucket. She was surprised to learn that the old man had possessed musical prowess.

 _“No one knows what it's like_  
_To be hated_  
_To be fated_ _  
__To telling only lies”_

It was almost as if the eccentric was singing about Pacifica and the Northwest family’s legacy. Coming from a long line of liars, cheaters, thieves, and murderers, Pacifica was well aware of the vices her ancestors engaged in for the security of their prosperity and wealth.

 _“But my dreams_  
_They aren't as empty_ _  
__As my conscience seems to be”_

She stepped foot on the hardwood floor and shuffled towards the doorway, poking her head to see Fiddleford himself. The pajama-clad southern inventor seated himself on a purple IKEA-esque couch as he strummed on his aged banjo. Pacifica noted that his beard began to grow a few inches from his chin. Raccoon Wife settled herself on the arm of the sofa, napping peacefully while McGucket played his melancholic tune.

 _“I have hours, only lonely_  
_My love is vengeance_ _  
__That's never free”_

Pacifica was impressed with the eccentric’s musical gift. But as soon as Fiddleford shifted his gaze forwards, he was made aware of his unexpected audience and stopped in mid-song. However, he was quite content to see the young blonde up and about and flashed her a toothy grin.

“Well howdy Pacifica!” He happily greeted the young girl. “Yer up early.” Raccoon Wife attempted to jump off the couch to greet the girl, but Fiddleford caught her in time and placed her next to him on the soft cushion.

“Yeah, I suppose.” She answered. “That song you were just playing, I’ve heard it before but I can't recall the name of it.”

“Oh, I was just playin’ _Behind Blue Eyes_ by The Who.” McGucket answered with a smile.

“The _Who?_ ” Pacifica questioned.

Fiddleford lightly chuckled. The temptation to start play-on-words joke akin to an Abbott and Costello routine, but he restrained himself. “The band that wrote it is called The Who. They were a British rock band from the Sixties an’ Seventies, though I reckon that song was released durin’ my college years.”

 _College?_ Pacifica thought incredulously. Despite Fiddleford’s high intelligence, Pacifica never really pictured him as a college student. Perhaps it was all of the negative hillbilly stereotypes perpetuated through the media as well as her parents’ teachings of the _‘proletariat low-lives’_ that blinded her from seeing who McGucket truly was and the astonishing feats he was capable of.

“Hold up, I didn't know you attended college.” Pacifica said. “Where did you go to school?”

“Backupsmore University.”

“Really?” She inquired, her curiosity piqued.

Pacifica learned about the third-rate university from her peers at the boarding school she once attended in Rhode Island. The New York college was infamous during the Sixties and Seventies for its high student dropout rate as well as the drug and alcohol-induced insanity of its campus life. Even though the school had improved in its academic departments over the years, it was still frowned upon in the eyes of the elitists. “You don’t seem like the type who would go to a party school.”

“It was a wild environment durin’ my time there. So I reckon the school still upheld its notoriety for on-campus shenanigans in the years after I graduated. Although, the main reason I attended ol’ BU was their offer of a full-ride scholarship. Granted I did accepted inta other universities, but Backupsmore was the only school that my folks could pay fer. An’ as a young fella growin’ up in dirt poor in rural Tennessee, gettin’ a full-ride inta college was a dream come true!”

“Fascinating…” Pacifica muttered with interest. “Wait, so you’re originally from Tennessee?”

“Sure am! Ya see, I grew up in a hog farm in the Appalachian region of Tennessee. Despite the enormous poverty in that part of the state, my folks an’ I managed ta get by. I helped out a lot in the farm, mainly wit wranglin’ up the pigs an’ puttin’ ‘em back in their pens. But we didn’t put all of our energy inta the hog farm. We had daily music sessions durin’ our off-hours. My Ma an’ Meemaw were musically inclined, an’ they encouraged me ta dabble in music as well. So I picked up banjo at the tender age of four an’ I also learned how ta play the spoons, Heck! Meemaw even taught me the age-old art of hambonin’! But I wasn’t just fascinated wit music.”

Pacifica perked up her ears as Fiddleford continued to speak.

“Ever since I was a youngin’ I was always intrigued by technology an’ creatin’ things from scratch. I was a’tinkerin’ around with tools an’ various objects ta make somethin’ new an’ useful. Whether it would be a multi-purpose utensil carrier, a firewood chopper, or anythin’ that would make work easier ‘round the house. My folks saw all the gizmos and whatsits I made an’ were very supportive of my hobby. As I grew older my passion fer mechanics an engineerin’ soared an’ I made it my life’s mission ta create devices that would benefit humanity! So I applied ta college ta pursue my dream.”

Pacifica became engrossed with hearing the old man’s childhood. She finally realized that many of his quirks and odd behaviors probably stemmed from his humble upbringing in rural Tennessee. The girl concluded that though he moved out from Tennessee a long time ago, his Appalachian roots were still standing strong. She wanted to more know about Fiddleford’s youthful years, especially his time in college.

Pacifica walked towards the couch and took a seat next to the eccentric. This caused Racoon Wife to leap from McGucket’s hold and scamper around on the floor until she jumped onto Pacifica’s lap. The blonde was immensely startled her close encounter with the animal, even letting out a shriek of fear. Though Racoon Wife hopped off of Pacifica, the animal was still on the couch. She squirmed at the creature’s presence while she shuffled towards the far left side of the sofa. Fiddleford hastily place his banjo next to the couch so he could try and get her in his clutches. But the racoon only cuddled up to the girl and curled itself into a little ball. Upon realizing the animal’s docile nature, Pacifica composed herself and lowered her guard.

“Ya alright Pacifica?” Fiddleford asked concernedly. He gently picked up Raccoon Wife and held her closer to him.

“Yeah...I’ll be fine.” Pacifica answered as her cheeks blushed. She decided to change the topic so she wouldn’t have to think about the unexpected incident. “Could you tell me more about your time at college, please?”

“Why of course sugar cube!” The southerner exclaimed. “Back in my day. Backupsmore was infamous fer its ‘ _Animal House_ ’-type partyin an the over-abundance of students, most of whom were tryin’ ta avoid gettin’ drafted inta the war in Vietnam.”

Even though Pacifica was fascinated by the raunchy escapades of the hormonal students at the scandalous school, she had no idea that many of them refused to be recruited into war. She recalled her history class back at boarding school covering the topic of the Vietnam War. The lessons recounted the turmoil caused by the U.S. military efforts in politically divided nation in southeast Asia and how it affected the Americans back home, so much so that it sparked a great opposition against the war. She remembered flipping through the pages of her American History textbook seeing black-and-white photographs of young people protesting against the war on the city streets, at various colleges, and even at Washington D.C. Pacifica shuddered at the disturbing pictures taken at the wake of the Kent State shootings. At that moment, her intense curiosity over the subject took flight.  

“Were there any student protests against the U.S. military involvement in Vietnam?” Pacifica asked.

“Yep, there were a number of student-staged protests against the war an’ the U.S. government,” Fiddleford explained. “I even participated in a couple of ‘em. Fortunately, the student demonstrations never escalated inta violent riots…unless ya count the time a student by the name of Rick Sanchez got drunk and threw a beer bottle at an officer. Luckily the bottle missed and the worst that happened was that he spent a night sobering up in a cell.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Sure is. But that’s not the only things I’ve done on campus! I was inducted inta Backupsmore’s engineerin’ honor society, Tau Beta Pi. I was also a foundin’ member of the school’s robotics club! Heck, I was co-president of the Game Club wit my dear friend Ford!”

“Woah, woah, woah. Hold the phone!” Pacifica interrupted. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but you went to the same school as Stanford Pines, as in Stan Pines’ brother?”

“That’s right!” Fiddleford answered before continuing with his anecdote. “As I said, the two of us were presidents of the Game Club on campus. I remember havin’ the most fun there, hostin’ RPG nights together every Friday over at the student lounge....though we were usually the only two there, but we made the most of it. One half term, after we’d both finished our homework, we had a mega session of Dungeons, Dungeons an’ More Dungeons that lasted over two days. We drank so much coffee that by the end we couldn’t see straight.”

Pacifica was surprised hearing Fiddleford befriend Ford Pines. The two old geniuses seemed so close from the two times she saw them together. “But, how did you even meet?”

“If ya could believe it, durin’ my sophomore year I met Ford, who was a freshman at the time, an’ the two of us ended up as roommates!”

“Seriously?” Pacifica asked. “Were you two in any of the same classes together?”

“You bet yer boots we were! Though they were only gen-eds, but we were a dynamic duo in those classes. World history, calculus, American literature, that drama class in which we had ta act out scenes from Shakespearian plays...” Fiddleford answered, using his fingers to count off the courses he and his friend shared.

“Anywho, we combined our brain power ta ace those classes. When we had to create a short play for drama, we just recreated what had happened in one of our D, D & more D games an’ the professor fell in love wit it! But once we shifted focus on our main fields of study, we only saw each other outside of class. Ya see, Ford was a double major in biology an’ physics while I majored in engineerin’ an’ minored in Psychology. An’ those particular courses required hours of intense readin’ an’ essay writin’. I swear, it was hard ta convince him ta stop studyin’ whenever it was time ta hit the hay. Although there were some conflicts over Ford’s sleep schedule as well as his lack of self-care,’ the two of us got along like peas in a pod.”

Pacifica’s eyes gleamed with interest as she listened to Fiddleford’s college years. Never before did she assume that Fiddleford attained a Bachelor’s degree, let alone attended college. She was glad that she asked, but she was even happier when he obliged to indulge her with his recollections.

“Morning you two.” A tired voice greeted.

Pacifica and Fiddleford turned to see Tate sporting his faded John Deere T-shirt and flannel pajama pants. The stoic man smiled at his father and the girl they’ve assisted. They returned the greeting in near unison.

“Mornin’ son!” Fiddleford happily replied. 

“Good morning.” Pacifica added.  

“So Pacifica, did you sleep well?” Tate asked.  

“I did, thank you.” Pacifica replied.

“That’s good.” Tate said with a nod. His face then shifted into a more puzzled look. “I don’t know if I was hearing things, but did you two hear someone scream a few minutes ago?”

Pacifica’s face flushed. “That was me.” She responded sheepishly. “I kinda freaked out when the Racoon jumped on me. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright Pacifica.” Tate said. “You don’t have to apologize, I understand how nervous you are around RW. She takes a bit of getting used to.”

“Thanks,” Pacifica replied with relief. “Oh! What time do we have to meet the social worker over at Greasy’s?”

“We don’t have to get there  until ten, and right now it’s only a few minutes past seven.” He responded. “I need to go brew up some coffee. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”

“Alrighty Tater-Tot!” Fiddleford sing-songed. Pacifica gave the younger McGucket a friendly nod, to which he gave a small smile in return. Once Tate left for his morning coffee, Fiddleford turned his attention towards Pacifica and gave her a light pat on the shoulder.

“I reckon we should get some breakfast.” He suggested, getting up from his spot on the couch. “Why doncha relax an’ watch some TV while I fix ya up somethin’ ta eat.”

“Sounds good Fiddleford.” Pacifica answered contently, following McGucket’s cue to leave.

Pacifica needed a minor distraction to get her mind off of her family drama with her parents’ arrest and the tidal wave of legal actions that was to come with Fiddleford petitioning for guardianship over her. The two stopped at a normal-sized room that held a circular dining table and a small television set. Fiddleford grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. The image of Shandra Jiminez at the anchor desk appeared on the screen. Within seconds, an image of Pacifica appeared on the top right corner of the screen with the words _Safe at Last_ on the bottom.

“We begin with our top story this morning: Gravity Falls can finally sigh with relief now that Pacifica Northwest has been found alive and well last night. After yesterday’s announcement of her disappearance, many residents searched through the forested town for the girl in the hope she’d made her way back here. Others called the Gravity Falls Police Department, reporting of her arrival in town. One of the callers who confirmed Pacifica’s safety and whereabouts was none other than esteemed inventor, Fiddleford McGucket. The police’s top officers investigated the McGucket household for any information on her sudden return. They confirmed that Pacifica had been residing with the McGuckets for the past two days. The police also reported the statements from Pacifica herself, recounting how she left Portland to escape from her abusive parents and arrived in Gravity Falls with the intention of finding McGucket in the hopes of finding safety with his help.”

The camera cut to Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland, both of whom were being interviewed.

“After our investigations and followed interrogation with the McGuckets and Pacifica, we are happy to confirm that the young girl is not only alive and well, but she is also in good hands.” The chubby sheriff happily reported.  

“And speakin’ of hands, guess who just got _engaaaaged?!?"_ The young deputy declared with glee as he showcased a shining gold band on his ring finger.

“Oh Durland, you just couldn’t wait another minute, could you?” Blubs joked. The couple then wrapped their arms around each other and proceeded to share a passionate kiss. The camera crew didn’t even bother to cut back to the news room, but instead continued rolling as the cops showcased their affection.  

“Huzzah!” Pacifica’s safe you guys!” A white-bearded gnome exclaimed.

“Le crétin! She’s been living with us for over two days now le fou!” The French Lilputtian shouted as he angrily shook his fist at the not-so-bright gnome.

“Yeah man, don’t you remember her eating breakfast and dinner with us?” The other gnome added. “You seriously need to get your head in the game Carson!”

“Oh...right…” Carson said in realization before facepalming himself in defeat.

If things couldn’t get any crazier, the whole town was now aware of her story. She knew that if people recognized her, they would be swarming her and asking questions. Whether or not their concern would be legitimate or false worried her. Sure she placed her trust in her friends over at the Mystery Shack, but she wasn’t so certain about the other people in town. The last thing she wanted was her life to transform into a _Lifetime_ movie of the week. Pacifica almost didn’t want to go outside now.

She was drawn out from her musings the moment she felt a gentle, familiar hand on her shoulder. “You okay dear?” Fiddleford asked with concern.

Pacifica heaved an exhausted sigh. “This is going to be a long, _long_ day.”

* * *

The McGuckets and Pacifica took the Jeep over at Greasy’s Diner to meet with the CPS worker. She felt the butterflies fluttering in her stomach as she stepped out of the vehicle. Pacifica made sure that she stayed close by Fiddleford’s side.

“Tate!”

Pacifica noticed a well-dressed woman address the younger McGucket. She had short brown hair, green eyes and appeared to be in her thirties. The lady happily approached the bait salesman.

“Pacifica, I want you to meet my friend Dana Lynch.” He introduced the unfamiliar face. “A while after I first moved here, we both worked at the Bait Shop by the lake when it was under different management. She helped me to recognize everything in this town when I first arrived here over twenty years ago and we became friends ever since. Now she’ll help you with advancing your case.”

The social worker gave Pacifica a friendly smile as she knelt down to face her. “You must be Pacifica. I’m Ms. Lynch, but you can call me Dana if you wish.” The woman offered her hand to the young girl. Pacifica felt more at ease with the the lady’s amiable aura and gently shook her hand.

“It’s great to finally meet you in person Dana.” Pacifica said with sincerity. “I can’t thank you enough for reviewing all of the evidence.”

“You’re most certainly welcome Pacifica. But I should be the one thanking you for collecting the evidence in the first place. That’s a job no child should have to do and I’m sorry that nobody recognised the signs earlier. Someone should have helped you a long time ago.”

The woman was still kneeling as she continued to speak with the young girl. “You did the right thing by reaching out for help. And as a legal representative, I’m going to make sure that you are safe from now on and that your views and wishes are heard and understood. I’ll try to sort things out as quickly as possible but I’m going to need your help as we need to know what you want to happen now.”

Pacifica smiled feeling reassured that she was going to be listened to. She would be consulted.

“But before I can go into details, we should grab something to eat inside.” Dana said and she led the into the diner.

Pacifica nodded. Before the blonde could move, Fiddleford approached her and extended his hand out to her, offering to escort her into the restaurant. Pacifica wordlessly accepted his invitation, clasping her delicate hand into his calloused, but gentle one.

Once they approached the main doors, Pacifica began to feel anxious. She was well aware that Greasy’s was a popular eatery among the locals and that the place would be bustling with business at this time of day. And even if she were to disguise herself in a trenchcoat, bandana and sunglasses, she figured that her attempts at hiding herself would be futile since she tagged along with the McGuckets. She couldn’t begin to imagine the various scenarios in which the Gravity Falls citizens would react to her appearance.

Tate opened the door and allowed the others to walk inside first. Pacifica swallowed nervously and stayed close to Fiddleford. She still held onto his hand.

The moment the four stepped inside the establishment all of the patrons and employees halted and turned to look. A cold silence filled the air. Once everyone recognized Pacifica and the McGucket family, they welcomed them with celebratory cheers.

Pacifica was relieved by their warm hospitality, but was shocked at how energetic their greeting was. Growing up from an illustrious background, she and her family was used to receiving praise whenever they attended events in town or hosted parties at the manor. But in the wake of the ghost incident during Northwest Fest, Pacifica took her ancestors past misdeeds into consideration and pondered over the whole concept of having a reputation. Were people sucking up to them because they were wealthy? Were they only feigning their praise only to mock them behind their backs? Pacifica also wondered how the people of Gravity Falls would treat her if they ever learned of her family’s dark past.

Sure Dipper still saw the good in her despite knowing the truth, and Mabel didn’t seem to be the type of person who cared about what her relatives did in the past. And once the word went out of her father’s plan to ally himself with Bill, the Pines family didn’t clump her together with her family’s nefarious actions. Stan and Ford didn’t judge her harshly for being related to a bunch of criminals. Soos, his Abuelita, Melody and even Wendy were also kind to her when she visited them yesterday.

As Pacifica stood dumbfounded at the welcoming applause she received, she came to the conclusion that maybe people did appreciate her and not because of her family roots. Maybe it would be alright for her to just be herself in Gravity Falls. It seemed like people wouldn’t hate her for her family. She would be judged on her own actions. Pacifica hope that they’d like her once they’d got to know her.

 _Wendy was right._ The young blonde thought. But she was still overwhelmed by the positive commotion brought upon by everyone else inside the restaurant. Fortunately, Fiddleford noted her apprehension and gave her hand a comforting squeeze. Even Tate stood beside her in case the patrons got too excited and would start to swarm her.

“Alright everyone, settle down.” The voice of an older woman commanded.

The customers lowered their voices as Lazy Susan arrived from the back. Being a veteran waitress at Greasy’s, she held a bizarre authority over the restaurant that no one dared question. Susan looked over at Pacifica and the adults, giving them a bright smile as she approached them.

“Well hello there!” She greeted. “I apologize if the place is a bit rowdy.”

“Aw hush Susan,” Fiddleford bantered. “I reckon they’re wakin’ up now after drinkin’ yer wonderful coffee. It’s only mornin’ and they’re flyin’ off the handles!”

The waitress chortled at his complimentary response. “It’s nice of you to drop by.” Susan looked at the girl holding his hand and smiled at her. “Welcome back Pacifica.”

Pacifica was touched by the woman’s sincerity. “Well it’s nice to be back, that’s for sure.”

“D’aww.” Lazy Susan said sweetly. “I bet you all are hungry, let me grab a table for ya!”

It wasn’t long before the waitress seated the four at one of the booths. Pacifica placed herself next to the window as Fiddleford sat next to her. Tate and Dana situated themselves on the opposite side of the booth. Lazy Susan handed them each a menu. “Would you like to start out with any drinks? Any coffee?”

“I’ll have water please.” Pacifica requested. The adults all ordered their coffees and Susan swiftly retreated to the kitchen to retrieve their drinks.  

Dana was the first to speak up. “So Pacifica, are you settling in alright at the house with Fiddleford and Tate?”

“Yes I am.” The girl answered. “I’m getting used to it, seeing how I used to live there before my father idiotically spent most of his wealth on-” Pacifica then remembered the Nevermind All That Act, which prohibited any talk of Weirdmageddon in public. She swiftly found a way to get her point across without breaking the law. “...you-know-who during you-know-what.”

“I see…” Dana noted, her face turning serious when Pacifica mentioned her father’s transgression.

Lazy Susan returned to the table, handing everyone their respective beverages. “Do you know what you want to order or do you need more time?”

“Fellers?” Fiddleford asked the group.

Pacifica gently placed her menu on the table. “I’m ready to order if everyone else is.” Everyone else in the table nodded in agreement and turned towards the waitress, who readily held her pen and notebook.

“So what can I get for ya today?”

“I’ll have scrambled eggs please. No homefries.” Pacifica answered as Susan jotted down the request.

“I’m going to have the eggs benedict with bacon on the side.” Dana said.

“Alright, may I have the pancake special?” Tate asked.

“Of course!” Susan said. “And what’ll you have Fiddleford?”

The old eccentric didn’t even refer to the menu. “I’ll have what he’s havin’!” He requested with a grin while gesturing to his son.

“Alrighty, I’ll have your food ready as soon as possible.” She announced. Fiddleford collected the menus and handed them back to Susan before she took off.

Dana decided now was the perfect moment to discuss Pacifica’s case. “So have you all given thought of what to do next?”     

“We did.” Tate answered solemnly. “And after a long discussion, Dad and I came to the conclusion of petitioning him as Pacifica’s legal guardian.”

Pacifica’s eyes widened. Maybe Tate decided to give Fiddleford a chance after hearing the older man’s pleas and taking them into consideration.

“We wanted to ensure that Pacifica would be surrounded by folks who deeply cared fer her in a safe environment.” Fiddleford added with great resolve.

“That seems like a great choice on your part.” Dana stated with a smile. She turned to Pacifica. “Is that what you want?”

Pacifica nodded. “Yes, I want to stay with Fiddleford.”

“That’s good.” Dana said. “Normally, it’s my job’s not this easy. You know what you want and the people you want to live with are happy for you to do so.”

Before the social worker could go on, Susan returned carrying a large tray that held their breakfast. One by one, the experienced waitress passed each plate to everyone in the booth. Pacifica looked down on her plate and noticed the extra helping of scrambled eggs. She turned to look at Lazy Susan, who gave a friendly smile and lifted her eyelid in a knowing wink.

Everyone decided to eat breakfast for a few minutes before they could continue with the discussion. Pacifica had never eaten food at a diner before since her family had a chef back when they were still wealthy. But upon taking a few bites, Pacifica nodded to herself and was content with her meal. It wasn’t five-star cooking, but it was still appetizing.

After a few minutes, everyone had eaten a considerable amount of their food and were nearly full. Dana took it upon herself to dive into the legal matters.

“Now Fiddleford, if you want to become Pacifica’s guardian, you must go through the process of petitioning for adoption and presenting her case upon a court hearing. My best bet is for you to go to the courthouse near the town border and speak to the clerk concerning your request. There she’ll be able to give you three copies of guardianship form for you to fill out. Once you complete the forms, you must provide your signature before a public officer and file them. And as you fill out the forms, it would be wise to be thorough when presenting your reasonings and to include the the substantial evidence into your explanation.”

Fiddleford gave the social worker a steadfast nod, solemnly heeding to her instructions. Pacifica and Tate also listened carefully to the woman’s consultation.  

“After you petitioned to the court, you will be notified through the mail of the date the court will hear your case. In the meantime, you would be expected to undergo a number of extensive background checks as well as financial and mental assessments to determine whether you would be fit to for guardianship.”

The old eccentric’s knee was bouncing at a rapid rate upon hearing the required mental assessment. Fiddleford was aware of his mental health issues. He didn’t want to lose his chance at helping Pacifica if he were to mess up the evaluation. He needed to prove that he was capable of taking care of Pacifica. The younger McGucket looked over at his Dad from across the table. Noting his father’s nervousness, Tate placed his hand atop of his Dad’s on the table. Fiddleford’s knee bouncing began to lessen from his son’s support. He was silently grateful for Tate’s intervention. Without his son’s support he might have started pulling at his hair again and he didn’t think that would give the social worker a good impression of his mental state.

“But after hearing the improvements you made, I am positive you will pass those background checks with flying colors.” She told them and giving them a reassuring smile.

Fiddleford gave a small sigh of relief. Tate still kept his hand on his father’s. Pacifica looked at the touching father-son moment before turning her gaze at Dana.

The social worker continued on while looking at Pacifica. “And with the sufficient amount of tangible proof on your side, along with their current criminal charges, I’m also certain that your parents would no longer have custody over you and Fiddleford would be legally granted guardianship over you. I am able available if you need any assistance with the petitioning process.”

“That sounds good Miss Lynch” Fiddleford said.

As if on cue, Lazy Susan returned to the booth. “Did you all enjoy your meal?” Everyone agreed in near unison. “Can I get you anything else?”

“Pacifica, do ya want anything?” Fiddleford asked.

“I’m full, thanks.”

“We’re fine, thank you.” Fiddleford told Susan.

She nodded. “Call me if you need anything.”

Once Susan had moved on, Dana said, “I’ll have to head off now. I’ve got another appointment across town in half an hour.”

Tate stood up and shook her hand. “Thank you for all your help Dana. We really appreciate it.”

“It’s my pleasure Tate. If I can be of any more help, please feel free to contact me at any time.”

“Thank ya so much.” Fiddleford told her sincerely. “You’ve really reassured me that we can do this.”

“Yes, thank you.” Pacifica added.

Dana laughed. “You’re very welcome. I wish everyone was as grateful for what I do as you all are.” She glanced at her watch. “I really have to go or I’ll be late.”

They all said goodbye as she left. Then the three of them finished the last of their breakfasts. Once the check came in, Fiddleford paid with cash and gave Lazy Susan a generous fifty dollar tip.

* * *

Later, on the way back at the manor, Pacifica reflected that she was glad to have met the CPS worker and discussed their course of action.

“Hey Pacifica,” Fiddleford spoke as he turned around from the front seat to face her. “I know it’s been a long few days, an’ I just realized that ya haven’t seen all of the renovations made ta the shed yet!”

The teen looked back at Fiddleford’s gaze. He was right. They have been so busy with figuring out a plan for Pacifica to legally break ties with her parents and presenting their evidence to Dana that she didn’t even bother to ask about the changes made to the manor.

“I can give ya the grand tour if yer up for it.” The codger offered.

Pacifica took a moment to think about and decided that she needed a break from going over the plan of action and a proper re-introduction to the manor was a great idea. “I’d love to, Fiddleford.” She answered with a smile.

“Excellent!!” Fiddleford cheered, flinging his hands in the air. Tate was surprised by his father’s jovial response and stopped in the middle of driving.

“Dad,” The stoic man reprimanded.

“Whoops,” Fiddleford sheepishly responded. “Sorry there Tate. I got a little too excited there.”

“I know.” Tate said with a nod. He swiftly patted his father on the shoulder as if to say that it was alright. The father and son shared a smile before the latter continued to drive.

Both Tate and Pacifica noted that the southerner’s excitement almost resembled that of a small child’s. It was humorous how much positive energy this old man still retained. And even after the long hard years of mental health issues, homelessness, and ridicule from the public, Fiddleford still possessed an upbeat attitude and optimistic outlook on life.

It didn’t take long for the Jeep to return to the manor. Tate pulled up to the front doors and parked the car. Once they all got out of the vehicle, Fiddleford escorted Pacifica inside.

“I’m so excited ta show ya the renovations I made ‘round here!” The old man exclaimed.

“From what I’ve already seen you’ve made a lot of improvements to the manor.” Pacifica said.

When they entered the main stairwell, Fiddleford stopped in his tracks. “Most of the rooms on the second floor are guest bedrooms. An’ ya already got a gander at the fort yesterday….” The eccentric’s knee was bouncing at a rapid rate while he thought. Fiddleford realized his jitteriness and slapped his knee, ceasing the bobbing motions. "But there are some rooms I fixed up over at the west wing ya might be interested in!"

“Lead the way.” Pacifica said in an amused tone.

Fiddleford grinned. “Alright, just follow me Sugar Cube!” He declared and began to run towards the hallway. The teen quickly followed suit. _How is this man running so fast at his age?_ She mused. But the old man stopped when he approached the fourth door on the right side of the hall. Pacifica was curious to see what he had in store for her.

“First up, we have the hootenanny room!” Fiddleford explained as he opened the doors.

Once Pacifica stepped inside, she looked upon the various musical instruments lying still and wanting to be played. There was a grand piano in the center of the room. Pacifica looked closer at the instrument only to discover that it was an electric keyboard in the guise of a grand piano. The girl remembered back when she took piano lessons at her school. She genuinely enjoyed playing and learning the the different musical genres she dabbled with, especially classical and jazz. Pacifica even did a bit of research on the many famous composers, ranging from Mozart to Mingus. But once her parents discovered her musical talents, they pressured her into entering youth competitions and demanded that she become the best. Pacifica couldn't handle the high expectations from her parents and quit playing altogether. She sighed at the bittersweet memories and decided to shift her attention elsewhere.

The teen then looked over to her right and saw a small number of banjos and guitars (acoustic and electric) lined up against the wall on a stable rack. While the guitars were in pristine condition, the banjos looked like they have seen better days. Each banjo had multiple stains and dents that reflected its age. But the banjos each held a certain uniqueness that made them special. There was even a banjo with the crescent moon-shaped base. Noting McGucket’s banjo skills, it made sense that he possessed so many to practice on. Pacifica moved on to find a crate full of unusual percussion instruments. She found two pairs of maracas, a few frog guiros, a cabasa, a tambourine, a cowbell and several spoons.

“So what do ya think?” Fiddleford asked.

“It’s pretty cool.” She answered. “My only question is why do you have so many instruments in here?”

Fiddleford chuckled. “I initially had this room set up fer my banjo collection, but once many of the supernatural critters moved in, I discovered that many of ‘em are musically inclined. Especially them Lilputtians. So I bought some more instruments so that anyone who wants ta practice can use ‘em!”

Pacifica nodded. Fiddleford seemed to be very encouraging of other people playing music. Perhaps she could re-learn piano without having to worry about being exploited for it.

“Oh! There’s one other room I know yer gonna love!” Fiddleford exclaimed.

Pacifica followed the inventor as they exited the room and ventured down the hallway. Once they approached the end, she could tell that Fiddleford was bringing her to the fireplace room. Growing up, Pacifica spent countless times in that room receiving lessons from her father about the Northwest family tree. The girl learned from a young age that her ancestors were no saints as they would do anything from lying, cheating to straight-up murder to secure their power and reputation. But the lectures were not the only aspects of the room that haunted her.

From an early age, Pacifica was spooked out by the various animal-heads that decorated the walls. They all held an aimless gaze that never failed in unnerving the poor girl. It was almost as if the decapitated animal heads stared into her very soul. However, Pacifica never informed her parents of her distaste for the trophies, fearing that they would use the bell to dismiss her. But her phobia was brought to life during the ghost hunting expedition she and Dipper engaged in. She remembered the blood oozing from their orifices and staining the walls and carpet as they chanted in unison…

_Ancient sins…Ancient sins…_

_Ancient sins… Ancient si-_

“Ya alright darlin’?”

Pacifica blinked as Fiddleford’s concerned question summoned her right back to reality. The teen nervously bit on her lip, hesitating before giving a proper answer. “Y-yeah...Everything's fine.”

Fiddleford was able to detect the girl’s discomfort from her body language alone. “Well we don't hafta go in that room if ya don't wanna-”

“No!” Pacifica blurted.

There was a long pause. Her cheeks reddened once she realize how loud she shouted. She didn't want Fiddleford to worry over her anymore than he already had. The last thing she wanted was to become a burden to him. Pacifica took a deep breath and sighed. “No...I do want to go inside. I’m sure you made some wonderful additions and I want to see them for myself.”

McGucket smiled at Pacifica and nodded, heeding her response. “As long as yer comfortable Pacifica, that’s what matters ta me.”

Pacifica took another deep breath and followed him. “I’m not going to let myself be frightened of a room,” She told herself with fierce determination.

Right then and there, the two arrived at the doors of the fireplace room. Fiddleford turned the knob and slowly opened the door. He took a few steps, entering inside the room before turning around to face Pacifica. The girl silently nodded, assuring him that she is alright, and proceeded to walk into the room.

Fiddleford beamed when he saw Pacifica enter the room. “So this right here is the anime room!” He declared, extending his thin right arm to showcase the living area.

Pacifica’s jaw dropped when she laid her eyes on the former fireplace room. The myriad of animal trophies and furniture derived from animal corpses were nowhere to be found. Instead, two small purple couches and a few beanbag chairs circled near the fireplace, which were occupied by a group of gnomes, lilputtians and a manotaur. There was a large plasma screen TV hung above the heat source. Two shelves full of DVDs and video games stood nearby the fireplace. Pacifica also noted the number of detailed figures of mecha robots that decorated the shelves and window sills. In the back of the room there was a ping pong table and air hockey table. Overall, she was impressed with how Fiddleford transformed the once nightmare-fueled room into a place of relaxation and recreation.

The manotaur who sat in front of the TV struggled to suppress his sobs as tears streamed down his face.

“You alright there?” Fiddleford asked him with deep concern.

“ _GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES_ IS A VERY SAD AND HEART-WRENCHING MOVIE!” The muscular man-cow shouted. “I HAVEN’T CRIED THIS MUCH SINCE I WATCHED _WATERSHIP DOWN_!” He turn off the TV and stood up before declaring, “I NEED TO CONSOLE MY EMOTIONS WITH ICE CREAM!” and swiftly left the room.

Once the testosterone-fueled creature had left, Pacifica looked over at Fiddleford with an impressed expression. “I have to admit I really love what you’ve done to the place.”

The southerner grinned from ear to ear upon hearing her praise. “Why thank ya darlin’!” Fiddleford happily replied. “I felt that the place needed a more friendlier appearance.”

The positive changes made to the room almost made Pacifica forget why she was so afraid of it in the first place.“So, if you don’t mind me asking, what happened to all of the hunting trophies?”

“Tate an’ I sold ‘em to a pawn shop a couple towns over.” Fiddleford explained. “We were lucky ta get those creepy-lookin’ critters off our hands. I didn’t wanna frighten racoon wife wit the animal heads.”

“I don’t blame you there,” Pacifica joked. “I had to grow up seeing those demented things on a daily basis.”

“Oh…” Fiddleford replied in a worried tone.

Pacifica noticed the old man’s shift in mood and decided to reassure him. “I mean, I got used to them and all, it’s just that, well...I had a particularly bad experience with them that I’d rather not talk about now.”

“I understand.” He spoke with empathy. “But now ya don’t hafta worry ‘bout those wretched furniture pieces no more. So take yer time ta explore around the room fer a bit!"

Pacifica wordlessly agreed and immersed herself into the room. As she wandered around, her eyes scanned around the room for any other changes to the once creepy room. While she was busy absorbing her surroundings, she tripped over a short, but thick metal machine. Once Pacifica recovered from the fall, she gazed at the enigmatic cylinder. It had two screens, big and small respectively, and a set of buttons in the middle.

“What’s that thing?” Pacifica asked, pointing at the unknown device plugged into the outlet.

“Oh! That’s the home security bot I made recently!” Fiddleford answered. He unplugged the machine and turned it on. The big screen on the front lit up and a smiley face appeared.

“So how this thingamajig works is that ya enter a map of the house and press on the area where ya want the bot ta guard. Afterwards ya set the allotted time fer the bot ta monitor the house. Since I let my front doors open fer anyone, I like ta have this guy guard the back doors in case any burglars try ta break in here.  An’ once the location coordinates are entered, ya pick how long the little fella goes into guard duty.”

A digital clock appeared on the larger screen and Fiddleford quickly set the time before pressing the enter button on the smaller screen. The robot’s smiling face soon reappeared. The device joyfully spun around while emitting a few bubbly boops of approval.

Pacifica was astounded by the inventor’s latest project. “That’s incredible Fiddleford!” The girl said with wonder.

“Aw, why thank ya dear! Though there are some design flaws I have ta look at before I can submit it ta the person who commissioned me fer it. But fer now, this little fella’s been a good lil’ prototype.” He said as he gave the machine a couple affectionate pats. The device cooed in response.

Pacifica was astonished by this man’s mechanical prowess, but there was one thing that came to mind.

“But wait a minute, if you just made that machine, where did you even build it?”

“Oh, I made it in my lab downstairs!” Fiddleford responded.

“Downstairs?” She inquired. She hadn’t even known that the manor had a basement. Either the lab had been built since her family had moved out or it was simply another secret room she’d never been aware of.

Pacifica did not remember her parents using a secret laboratory in the manor. However, she remembered back to the secret room and seeing a portrait of one of the previous Northwests as a mad scientist. Though the thought of the first Northwests having a lab as part of the original plans when the manor was first built had never crossed her mind until now.

“Yep! I’ll show ya!”

Fiddleford grabbed Pacifica’s hand and led her down the hall with great exuberance. The two arrived at what Pacifica remembered being a dead end. Now however, there was a doorway.

“I realized there was a small amount of space here that seemed to be missing,” Fiddleford told her, “so I knocked down a hole in the wall and found this blocked up staircase leading down an’ at the bottom was great lab!”

Pacifica followed him down the stairs. Once they approached the bottom, they entered the state of the art scientific lab. The girl stopped and gazed at the room with wonder. There were many tables, some that held recent inventions and others that were empty. Towards the center of the lab  there were cabinets filled with chemistry beakers, vials and flasks as well as other equipment. The right hand corner wall held many larger tools used for experimentation. Pacifica also noted the large emphasis of lab safety around the room from the many posters prohibiting horseplay and promoting the use of protective gear to the listing if hazardous materials. There was even a safety shower, a portable metal rack filled with white labcoats, and a crate filled with goggles and rubber gloves.

Pacifica still stared at the lab in amazement. “This was all underneath the manor the whole time!?”

“Well not quite,” Fiddleford admitted, scratching the back of his head. “It was a lot smaller when I first found it an’ all the equipment was outdated. I payed Manly Dan to extend it a bit and I’ve been replacin’ and updating it since then. I’m made an appointment with a few technicians ta install an elevator in here soon.”

“This place is absolutely amazing!” Pacifica told him earnestly while giving him a sincere smile.

“Oh shucks, it’s just my tinkerin’ space,” Fiddleford said grinning, his cheeks glowing with a light shade of red. He was happy that Pacifica seemed impressed with the facelifts he made to the manor. “Though yer more than welcome ta drop by if ya like, just so long as ya wearin’ the protective gear I have over there.”

Just then pair heard a shout from upstairs from one of the gnomes, “Lunch will be ready in five minutes for anyone who wants it!”

“I’ll show ya the rest of the improvements I’ve made later,” Fiddleford said. “First, let’s get some grub!” The two headed back upstairs to the main house. This day was going so much better than Pacifica had worried about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Behind Blue Eyes - Written by Pete Townshend and Performed by The Who 
> 
> -I based Fiddleford's security bot on this cute little droid (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxFxdIngOPc)


End file.
